


The Rebel Bitty

by SloaneConri



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adoption, Bitty Pranks, Bitty is Sarcastic, Bitty wants to be independent, But the writer has plans, Multi, Reverse Harem, Surface timeline, We’re not there yet, Wibbly-Wobbly-Times-Wimey-Stuff, bitty - Freeform, some foul language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-01-05 00:45:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 39,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18355133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SloaneConri/pseuds/SloaneConri
Summary: Beagan is determined to escape the Bitty center she was sent to. During one of her bids for freedom, she finds herself caught, again! This time it’s a visitor to the center and they take a shine to each other. He promises to visit and they talk about her being adopted by his “family.” She just wants away from all the rules and regulations and being treated like a pet. There will be some ups and downs as she tries to navigate the craziness she was swept into, but there is always a chance to laugh, love, and grow.





	1. Bitty Doesn’t Equal Fragile

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys. So this is my first fanfic I’ve ever posted... It’s actually a lot of firsts for me, so please judge me kindly.  
> Disclaimer and all that: I don’t own Undertale, nor was I the creator of any of the AUs. I’m just playing in the playground.  
> Side note - Beagan is pronounced: bEEg-an

Beagan took a running leap and caught the edge of the vent. The caretakers would know she had slipped through before long, so she had to be quick. She wedged the penny into the screw and made quick work of removing it. Tucking the penny into her bag, she pulled on the vent until she had enough room to slip inside. The center had been a decent enough place at first, but then there had been talks of adopting bitties out like pets. That was the last thing Beagan had wanted. She was not a pet! She was still human, mostly, just really tiny. She was able to take care of herself. She pulled the vent back into place before creeping through the vents, walking carefully so as to not make any noise. If she were caught, she’d likely be put into solitary confinement and then moved into one of the glass cages that they kept the rougher bitties in. She took a right hand turn, knowing that there was likely an outside vent nearby. The room she had shared before the other three had been adopted had a window that over looked the woods near the center. There had to be an outer vent somewhere. She poked her head around a left turn in the vent and saw a light. Excited, she moved quickly towards it. It was an intake from outside! There were the woods! She could probably make it there in a couple hours and then she’d be home free!

 

She was about half way out the vent when she heard voices. She was so startled that her grip slipped and she began falling to the ground below. Angling herself as best she could, she tried to aim for a small bush about five feet off to the side. She caught one of the small branches, but it cracked under her weight and she fell through the branches until she hit the dirt below. She gave a hiss of pain, she had twisted her ankle in the fall. Crawling further back into the shade of the bush, she watched carefully as the polished shoes of one of the caretakers walked by with someone wearing some worn out blue high-top shoes.

“-Really can’t thank you enough for your input on this. I know a few of the bitties don’t want to be adopted, but they are really too fragile to survive on their own,” came the voice of the caretaker. It was Kenley, the one who ran the center, Beagan was certain.

 

“i don’t think so, but then again, i’m just consulting on this,” said a new voice. High-tops? Beagan liked the sound of his voice, deep and smooth. She crawled forward a little to get a peek at him. Whatever she had been expecting was thrown out to the four winds when she saw that High-tops was a skeleton. She gave a quiet gasp in surprise. Was he one of the monsters who had been released from the mountain a couple years back? There were a few who worked at the center, but they were rabbits and a couple of lizards. This was a walking talking skeleton! She couldn’t tear her eyes away and just stared at him. His dark sockets with small lights that just seemed to glimmer, smooth jawline that was so unlike that of a humans, a wide smile that was full of mirth; there was something about him that called to Beagan.

 

She limped along behind them, trying to keep out of sight while keeping them within hers. The caretaker, definitely Kenley now that she could see the back of their head and part of their profile, was heading for the front entrance to the center. At the entrance Kenley stopped and bid High-tops a good day before heading in. Beagan kept following the skeleton as he started off towards the parking lot of the center. She was trying to figure out his wardrobe. If he was consulting, shouldn’t he be dressed more formally than a blue hoodie and basketball shorts? About half-way down the path, High-tops stopped suddenly.

 

“ya know kiddo, you’d have a better time escaping if ya didn’t follow me,” came his quiet voice. He hadn’t even seen her, Beagan was certain of it. She lowered herself closer to the ground, watching him carefully. The skeleton turned around, eye lights trained on her. “you must be beagan, kenley’s ‘problem child.’” He raised a hand to make air-quotes. Beagan carefully backed away, getting ready to run. “ah-ah-ah, no you don’t.” Suddenly she was enveloped in a blue glow, unable to move. He gave a small flick of his hand in a “come here” motion and she was floating right to his hand.

 

“P-Put me down! I’m not going back there to wait to be adopted!” She screeched at him. She tried to thrash her arms but everything was sluggish and soon she was in front of him, still held by that magic glow. He cocked his head at her, his grin growing slightly.

 

“yep, definitely beagan. i must _beagan_ audience with kenley again.” He gave a small chuckle before turning and walking back down the path to the center. She started trying to move again, but only managed to flip herself upside down.

 

“You wanna know the worst part of this place?” she asked High-tops, crossing her arms over her chest petulantly, “It’s not that they’re mean or strict. Nah, people here are pretty easy to get along with. I remember my entire life, which means I should’ve been exempt from this place. But noooo! The poor wittle Bitties need someone to take care of dem! They are so patronizing here! It’s like I’m one of the child bitties!” She tried to flip herself back upright, continuing her rant. “I’m not allowed to leave though because they can’t find hide-nor-hair of my mother and my grandma is ‘too old’ to take care of a bitty.”

 

“what about your dad?” High-tops asked.

 

“Died a year and a half before people started turning into bitties,” Beagan said quietly, finally righting herself so she was in a more upright position. “What about you? What are you doing here?” They were at the front door of the center, so she just resigned herself to her fate of the punishment that would await her.

 

“maybe i’ll tell ya later,” High-tops said, his smile gentle.

 

“Doctor Sans! Where on earth did you find her?” came a shrill voice from the receptionist desk. Beagan turned her head and saw the frizzy old woman in charge of the waiting area of the center. She couldn’t remember her name, but it wouldn’t matter soon.

 

“seems she took a liking to me,” he said with a chuckle. Beagan blew out her cheeks and glared at him. So his name was Sans. The blue glow dissipated and she was in full control of herself again. She flopped back in his hand and covered her eyes with her arm, groaning out her frustration. She had been so close to freedom. Maybe there would be a next time.

 

“I’ll inform Doctor Kenley right away! Please wait right here!” The receptionist squawked before Beagan heard her retreating footsteps rush off behind the desk.

 

“if you behave, maybe i’ll come back and visit ya,” Sans said and Beagan could hear the smile in his voice.

 

“My prince,” she deadpanned. She moved her arm to glare up at him. “I may be only four and a half inches tall, but I will find a way to punt you across the parking lot, _Doctor_ Sans.”

 

Sans’ smile only grew wider. “i look forward to that day princess. it will reign supreme in my memories and i’m sure you’ll be a royal pain until then.” Beagan sniggered at the stupid puns and shook her head. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t so bad. She stood up and held her hand out to him. His smile softened as he extended his smallest phalange to her. She took it and shook it like she were shaking his hand. She heard Kenley come in then.

 

“Sans, I’m so sorry about Beagan. I don’t know when she slipped out. Thank you for finding her and bringing her back,” Kenley said in their most professional voice. Beagan didn’t take her eyes off of Sans as she rolled them and twisted her face into a smirk.

 

“nah, was my pleasure. this little lady is rather feisty and we had a good chat.” Sans said with a returned smirk, his eye lights jumping from Kenley to Beagan and back again. He lifted his hand to Kenley and Beagan jumped into Kenley’s outstretched hand, holding their thumb for stability.

 

“Alright Doc, take me away!” She said, throwing her hand to her forehead in a dramatic display. She turned to Sans and gave a small wave saying, “I hope to see you again soon bone-boy. You’re not half bad, ya know?”

 

Sans waved back with a smile before turning and walking out the front door. Beagan looked up at Kenley with a grin on her face and held her arms out like she was going to be shackled. “Shall we Doc?” Kenley just frowned and shook their head at her, turning and walking deeper into the facility.

 

“We won’t be putting you in solitary Bea. But you are being move into a smaller room. We had an entire family of bitties come in and they need the space.” They barely looked at her as they wandered into the hall that led to the living quarters of the bitties.

 

“Okay,” was her only response. She wasn’t to fussed over losing her room, it was entirely to big for just her after the others had left and no one new came in. She suspected that had been on purpose so she couldn’t give anyone any “ideas” or share her thoughts on bitty adoption. She was monitored while she was at meals and during “recess” out in the yard or in the communal areas so she was often quickly caught if she complained. Sans hadn’t been to off the mark when he said she was classified as a problem.

 

Kenley opened a door and and set Beagan on a shelf where her personal items had been moved to.Bookcases had come in quite handy when dividing space for bitties however, this room was certainly a lot smaller. More of a broom closet than anything. Beagan quickly noticed that there was no vent in this room for her to sneak through.

 

“Congratulations on your single Bea. Sonja is more than a little miffed because she had her sights set on this. Try not to rub it in her face.” Kenley was writing on a clipboard and not really paying anymore attention to her. She took a running leap and threw herself across her bed, deciding she wouldn’t pay anymore mind to Kenley either.

 

After a few more moments of Kenley scribbling on the clipboard, they turned and left. Beagan threw her bag over to the other side of the shelf,near her tiny dresser. It looked like she would have to plan a new escape. Maybe this time she wouldn’t be drawn to a skeleton in blue high-tops.


	2. An Awkward Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m going to try to post chapters once a week or maybe every two weeks, we’ll see how it all goes. I kinda decided to post this story on a whim, so, thanks for reading everyone.
> 
> I also want to say that I was inspired to write this after I read Bitty Hunt by Rnd-Injustice. It’s actually a really good read, I highly recommend it.

It had been a couple weeks since Sans had visited and Beagan was bored. She had tried everything she could think of to slip out of the center and had been stopped at every turn. She knew they were watching her carefully right now. Not that it’d deter her, the punishments were silly anyway. Solitary was a joke. She was already in solitary anyway when she was in her room. She was basically grounded to her room when they punished her with that. Loss of communal area privileges weren’t really anything to get worked up over either, they were simple punishments like when she was a child. She was not a child! Okay, maybe she acted childish, but she was still fully capable of taking care of herself. She could cook and clean and knew the meaning of a hard-days work. Being self-sufficient was nothing new to her. 

Beagan threw her bag over her shoulder and started climbing down the ladder that went the length of the bookcase her living space was separated with. Time to get started for the day, cleaning her space and ‘making breakfast.’ Pfft... What a joke. She was kept supplied with sandwich stuff until she was allowed back in with the rest of the Bitties in the cafeteria.

Once she reached the level with her food storage, the utter nonsense that it was, she tossed her bag onto the table in the center and started banging around the “kitchen,” purposefully slamming the cupboard and refrigerator doors. She was frustrated, bored, and maybe even a little bit lonely. She decided to start belting out music, from show tunes to alternative rock, anything to keep the creeping boredom at bay. She made a sandwich, from what she was allowed to have in her room, scarfed it down in record time and set to cleaning her small space. She kept singing, switching to modern pop, using her broom as a guitar like she would’ve at her old apartment on cleaning days.

A knock came from the door of the broom closet she called a home and she immediately dropped her broom-guitar. 

“It’s open,” she called to whomever was on the other side. 

It was to early for the communal areas to be open, not that she was allowed to join the others today, and she wasn’t in need of a checkup either. Her twisted ankle had healed fine so she saw no need to bring it to the doctors attention. Must be a caretaker come to make sure she hadn’t slipped out.

The door opened and one of the newer caretakers stuck their head in. “You have a visitor Beagan,” she informed her.

“A visitor? Really? Is it that skeleton dude?” Beagan asked, grabbing her bag and sliding down the ladder.

“It’s Doctor Sans, yes. You really must’ve made an impression on him,” the caretaker said.

“Nah, I think he’s just making sure I haven’t driven Doc Kenley up the wall yet,” Beagan said with a cheeky smile. The caretaker, Beagan thought her name might’ve been Eve, held her hand out so Beagan could climb on.

“Well, he did have a consultation with Doctor Kenley today, so perhaps,” Eve said with a grin. Eve took Beagan out to the meeting room where bitties and their potential adoptees could talk and get to know one another before any final decisions were made. It was a small room, with a small table and a couple of comfortable chairs. “Stay here Bea, I’ll bring in Doctor Sans in a moment.” 

With that, the caretaker left Beagan on her own. She dropped her bag on the table and began pacing it, looking around the room. It was a rather plain room, with two windows and decorated in such a way that it wouldn’t have any distractions. It certainly made for a slightly more intimate setting. After pacing the length of the table twice, the door opened and in walked Eve, followed by Sans wearing his blue hoodie, shorts, and high-tops again.

“Hey dude! What’s up?” Beagan said happily as Sans sat in one of the chairs.

“not much, just came to check on ya,” Sans said with a lazy grin. He looked tired, like he had pulled an all nighter and was barely surviving on a single cup of coffee.

“Ah yes, the misunderstood, red-headed stepchild does need lots of attention,” joked Beagan as she tugged on a bit of her ginger hair. Sans gave her a funny look as he leaned back into the cushions of the seat he chose.

“you might have to explain that one,” he said, tapping a phalange against his teeth like he was lost in thought.

“Well, it’s a metaphor-cliche-joke thing,” Beagan started lamely, “What I know about where it came from is that it was originally used to describe an unwanted child. Sometimes stepchild was used as a euphemism for a bastard child. And a long time ago red heads were mistrusted and disliked because red hair was so rare. So a red-headed stepchild was just like getting double jeopardy. Uh, wow that got dark. Um.. Sorry. Uh.. Nowadays its often used to describe, like, lack-luster situations to potentially turn it into a joke to lighten the mood. And.. uh..” Beagan clicked her jaw shut to stop her rambling before it started and began brushing her fingers through a lock of her hair, trying to think of a way to change the subject.

“well, that was hair raising,” Sans said. Beagan looked up to see the smile that had fallen while she was talking was back in place. She tried to smile, but felt that it probably resembled a grimace more. “sorry, that was _hair_ -rible. i promise, not all my puns will make you _mullet_ over.” Beagan chuckled at that, her mood lifted exponentially.

“They really are _hair_ -rendous, you should have _shaved_ yourself the trouble and stopped while you were still a _head_.” Those were good. Kinda. Her improv skills were improving, even if it was at the expense of some terrible jokes. Sans smile was bright as he changed the subject to ask Beagan about her favorite activities.

“When I was a kid, I liked camping with my dad. He taught me everything I know about wild plants and animals. We would go up to this area called Cherry Creek and rough it for a week twice a year. It’s where I learned a lot of useful things,” Beagan was pacing again as she talked, happy to talk to someone about her childhood. She told him of the time she had fallen in the river and soaked her only pair of shoes while her father stood on the bank and laughed at her. It was nice to share the memories. Many of the bitties didn’t remember their lives before they were at the center, something Beagan found to be rather sad. Although, some of the bitties looked like maybe forgetting their past was better for them than remembering it.

“so you and your old man would tromp around in the woods for a week? i suppose that’s one way to build character,” Sans mused, the sleepy look on his face completely relaxed.

“Hey, you know about my dad, what about you? You got any family?” Beagan asked.

“i got a little bro and some... distant relatives too. things have kinda snowballed recently with everyone just popping up out of nowhere.” The bags under his eyes suddenly looked worse than they had when he first came in.

“Are they difficult?” A nod. “I get that. I’m an only child myself. I had one cousin I was close to when I was a kid, but I haven’t seen them since, oh jeez, maybe fourth grade? Their family moved to England around that time.” Beagan looked out the one window in the room as she continued talking. “My aunt on my dad’s side of the family, however, was not the nicest of people and I never did get along with her kids or her husband. They were the main reason I was dumped here.”

Shit. Why did she say that? Why did she bring that up? Now there was absolute silence and Beagan was trying to figure out how to break the awkward silence until she heard a soft snore from Sans. She turned and saw that he had fallen asleep. She leapt from the table to the arm of the chair and started tapping on Sans’ hand. “I know it’s a social faux pas to unload a bunch of baggage on people you barely know, but I think falling asleep during said ramblings is worse,” she chuckled, though it sounded forced in her own ears, as he blinked down at her sleepily.

“sorry kid,” he yawned. His teeth actually separated then, exposing very square teeth that were framed by a couple of fangs. Beagan felt a small shiver run up her back at the sight of them. “i think i’ll have to cut our visit off here. i need to head home and make sure my cousins haven’t destroyed the house. i’ll see you next time, yeah?” Sans groaned as he stretched in his seat. Beagan hopped back onto the table after giving him another pat on his hand.

“Yeah, see you next time. Don’t be a stranger,” she said with a tight smile as Eve, who had completely blended into the back ground, came up and offered her hand to Beagan to climb into.

“see you then, kid,” Sans said, offering his hand to Eve to shake. “it was nice to meet you, miss.” Eve shook his hand with her free one and gave a nod and a smile.

“It was my pleasure Doctor. We do hope you’ll come for a visit again.” She moved to open the door that led to the main entrance of the building, allowing Sans to head through before closing it and taking the other exit to the back of the building where the living quarters were. “Well, that was certainly something,” Eve began, trying to break the silence that had fallen over them.

“Yeah, but I did most of the talking and I completely botched that up by bringing up stupid conversation topics,” Beagan groused as she sat on Eve’s hand. That conversation had gone so poorly, Beagan could only groan and bury her head in her hands.

“It wasn’t all that bad.”

“Yeah it was.”

Eve gave a small sigh before commenting, “You know, you’re the only bitty that he has actually met with twice, right? If you count when he had brought you back after your little, ‘excursion’ and now, you’ve officially broken his record of meeting bitties.” She opened the door to Beagan’s room and set her up on the shelf with her bed. Beagan dropped her bag on the floor and flopped down onto the bed, keeping her head turned away from Eve. “I don’t think that one bad conversation will make him dislike you as much as you think it will. You drive Doctor Kenley up the wall every other day and they are still quite fond of you.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll finish my chores here in a bit. Can you have someone bring me more soap? I’m almost out.” She made sure her voice carried that bit of finality that said she was done with the conversation.

“Of course, Bea. Tomorrow you’re allowed back into the communal area again, are you going to join your group?” She could feel more than hear Eve’s sigh of defeat.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Maybe you can tell some of them about Cherry Creek. It sounds like you may have a few stories that would be fun to share.”

“Maybe.” Beagan didn’t look up when she heard Eve walk out and close the door behind her. As she lay there, she pulled an old, faded Polaroid picture out from under her bed. She brushed her fingers over her fathers face and smiled fondly at the little twelve year old that grinned at her from the picture. “Miss you Daddy. Sans came to visit me today and I think I just screwed up at making a new friend. I was never good at that. I wish you were still here.” She brushed a tear away and sat up, tucking the picture away before going back to cleaning. She started singing a song that left her feeling a little more hopeful for tomorrow.


	3. Another Birthday

It had been another two weeks before Sans returned to the center again. Beagan was rather shocked to hear he had come to visit her again and rushed through her lunch to get to the visitors room as soon as she could. He was already waiting in the room when she was brought in by a caretaker. His eye lights jumped to her immediately and Beagan was nervous. The last few times she had spoken with him were not pleasant conversations. Why had he come back to see her again? Why would it be today?

“hey kid, how’s it going?” Sans asked with a grin. He was already seated and comfortable looking as he watched the caretaker set Beagan down on the low table in front of him. Beagan noticed that he was wearing a pair of dark sweatpants instead of the basketball shorts this time, but his high-tops and jacket were still just the same. Today was a bit cooler than the last time he had come by and the spring weather was acting a bit finicky.

“It’s going pretty well, I’ve been staying out of trouble mostly,” Beagan said nervously, toying with her braided hair. It was her fathers birthday today and she wanted to dress up a little, keeping the tradition that they had started when he was still alive.

“i heard that you were... much less rambunctious since the last time i was here.” He shifted forward in his seat. “careful, when you’re quiet, they might think you’re planning something big.” Beagan was about to mouth off to him, but the grin on his face made her stop short.

“You make noise, and they don’t trust you. You behave like they want, and they still don’t trust you. I’ve really enamored them to me, haven’t I? To be honest, I’ve been a bit too preoccupied to try escaping,” Beagan commented as she sat down, tucking her legs back so she could smooth the simple dress she chose over her knees. She didn’t have many clothes, so the one dress she owned would have to do.

“well, ya have tried to break out at least ten times now, right? credit to be given where it’s due kid,” said Sans as he dug through his hoodie pocket. He pulled out a small envelope and handed it over to Beagan. “my bro and our cousin made this for ya. i kinda let slip that i would be coming to meet with ya and they wanted me to give ya this.” Beagan took the envelope from him and pulled out a card. It was nearly as tall as she was and as she opened it up, a large amount of glitter fell from it and completely covering her from head to toe. Sans burst out laughing. “well, i guess you’ve taken a shine to it. it really does complement your sparkling personality.”

Beagan laughed at that, the amount of glitter covering herself and the table was absolutely ridiculous. She laid out the card so that she could read it. It was an invitation to dinner written in a very neat script. “Well, as much as I’d love to accept their lovely invitation, I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. I’m not allowed to leave until I’ve been formally adopted, and that’s not happening anytime soon.” She set the card off to the side and tried brushing off some of the glitter.

“why wouldn’t ya be adopted? there are a few families out there looking right now, why wouldn’t they choose you?” Sans asked, his head cocked to the side, pillowing it in one of his hands.

“Because I don’t want to be adopted,” Beagan replied coolly.

“why not?”

“Because, whether the government realizes it or not, I’m still a person. I’m a sentient being, just like humans and monsters. I have my own thoughts I can express, my own voice that can be used. It’s stupid that just because I’m less than a foot tall, I’m no longer considered human. I get why it’s ruled the way it has been. There are so many bitties who don’t know who they were or what they may have been like before everything, but it’s still in them somewhere. There’s got to be exceptions made at some point, and I’m waiting for that day.” Beagan was quite passionate about the whole thing and she had a much longer speech about it, but Sans probably wouldn’t want to hear the whole thing.

“you’ve thought about this quite a bit haven’t ya?”

“Yes, but I’m not going to discuss it any further with another ‘Bitty Doctor,’ who won’t take me or my arguments seriously, thank you very much.” Beagan crossed her arms and turned away from him. She heard Sans give a small huff of laughter which only served to heighten her annoyance. This conversation was going about as well as the the last two did. She turned back to him and said sharply, “Alright wise guy, how about you talk for a while? We’ve had several conversations where I was the one who did most of the talking. It’s your turn.”

Sans shrugged, saying, “my life wasn’t really that interesting. life underground was really pretty monotonous. ya get up, go to work, hang out with friends if ya wanted, go shopping if ya needed things, went home and did it all again.”

“That’s everywhere Sans! What did you do? Tell me one story from underground that you share with your brother.” They stared at each other for a brief moment before Sans leaned back in his seat.

“hmmm...” He tapped a phalange against his teeth, a far away look in his eye. “my brother and i had a pet rock. papyrus had met this bunny girl in snowdin who had a rabbit for a pet and felt that a pet would be good for the both of us. we had a helluva time trying to agree on a pet so, out of frustration, pap said that if we couldn’t agree on a pet, he would go fish a rock out of the river. two days later, i come home from grillby’ s to find a rock on a plate on the table in the living room.” Sans looked down at Beagan who was listening with rapt attention. “i was to lazy to pick a name so we just named him rocky. pap decided the best diet for him was a cup of sprinkles every morning.”

Beagan giggled, “I don’t believe that last part. Did he really?”

“yeah, i’ve even got a pic.” Sans pulled an old flip phone out of his pocket and tapped a few buttons before turning it around to show Beagan a picture of a smooth, gray rock on a plate, covered in sprinkles.

Beagan’s giggles turned into a full laugh, her smile bright. Sans smile brightened at her, his eye lights dancing in his sockets. “Okay, that was a good one. Why sprinkles though?” Beagan asked as she caught her breath when her laughter finally died down.

“i never did figure that out. we actually still have the rock at home,” Sans replied as he closed the phone and tucked it back into his pocket. Beagan was actually rather glad for the turn their visit had taken this time. 

“That sounds amazing. My cousin, his name was Jason by the way, and I used to catch crawdads in a little stream that ran through the yard where he grew up. He always wanted to keep them, but I kept throwing them back. His mom would never let him keep it anyway, but it was still a lot of fun. I always thought he was the coolest. He was a couple years older than me, but he kept an eye out for me to make sure I stayed out of trouble.”

“pap is the coolest, by far. i don’t think you’re cousin is chill enough to compare,” Sans said, obviously trying to egg Beagan on.

It was working.

“Sorry punny man, but you don’t know my cousin like I do. Papyrus wouldn’t hold a candle to him if you knew what I did.” Just like that they were telling stories, trying to one-up each other.

If Beagan were being honest, it was pleasant to swap stories for an hour before she was told it was time to return to her room. Before she was escorted back to her room Sans asked her, “why ya all dolled up today?”

Beagan gave a small blush, before answering, “It’s my dads birthday today. We would always dress up for each other’s birthday when he was still alive.” She gave another tug on her braid while he gave her an odd look.

“well, i hope you have a pleasant celebration. i’ll see you next time.” With that, Sans left the room as the caretaker took Beagan back to her room. 

When Beagan was dropped off, she pulled the Polaroid picture of herself and her father out from under her bed and took it down the ladder to prop it up next her dining room table. She then went to her little refrigerator and pulled out the small piece of a mini cupcake she had saved from dessert a few nights ago. 

Setting it on the table she said to the picture of her father, “Sorry it doesn’t have a candle, Daddy. But it’s actually quite nice looking isn’t it? Much better than the one we made when I was sixteen. Sans came again today and I got to learn a little bit about his brother. Apparently his brother’s name is Papyrus. He and someone named Blue invited me to have dinner with them. It was a very nice gesture, but I think I’ll stick around here a little while longer.” 

Beagan scraped a little more of the glitter that was still clinging to her dress off and blew it away from the cake to the floor, making a small wish. After that, she sat down and ate the cupcake in silence, hoping that her wish for freedom would come true soon.


	4. Meeting Papyrus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to meet Papyrus and some of Beagan’s bitty friends! Also, plot development? Maybe?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I got bored and decided to go ahead and post a new chapter early. So... here we go! Writing Papyrus was kind of hard, which sucks because I love the adorable cinnamon roll.
> 
> Also, I wanted to do something other than read an essay on happiness. The first three pages were talking about what happiness is: Is it really a feeling? Is it a chance encounter or do we have to nurture our happiness? What makes us happy? 
> 
> It’s actually a pretty good read and the author is really good at illustrating her stance on the whole topic, but it’s marred by the fact that this is for a college course and therefore required reading.
> 
> Anyway, sorry for the ramble.
> 
> Enjoy!

Another two weeks passed before Beagan was visited by Sans again. She was beginning to notice a pattern. So had a couple of the other Bitties that Beagan hung out with. Sonja, after her initial displeasure over Beagan getting the single she wanted, was actually quite curious about the skeleton monster.

“He honestly doesn’t really look like any kind of doctor or scientist that I’ve ever seen,” Beagan was saying to Sonja and another Bitty named Lucas. They were out in the enclosed courtyard of the center, hanging out in the sun while Lucas was reading a book he borrowed from the reading nook in the Bitty communal area. 

“Really? How so?” Sonja asked. She was rather pretty if Beagan was honest, her dark hair and skin shining in the late spring sunshine. Sonja had been the first Bitty outside of Beagan’s original roommates to befriend her after she had been brought in.

“Well, for one thing, he’s always wearing this blue hoodie that looks about as old as me, and he was wearing basketball shorts when I first met him. Not only that, but he was wearing high-tops. What doctor wears high-tops?”

“Doogie Howser,” Lucas quipped, not looking up from the book he was reading.

“What?”

“Who?”

“Doogie Howser, the main character from the show Doogie Howser M.D. He wore Nike high-tops. Also, the Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who wore converse shoes.” Lucas still didn’t look up from his book, standing on the edge of the page he was currently reading. 

Lucas was a quiet Bitty, but he was nice enough. Beagan had gone out of her way to make sure that he had company when some of the other Bitties avoided him because he was exceptionally tall, standing at a good ten inches. He was also one of the few who remembered his life from before he had become a bitty, though he wouldn’t talk about it much. Beagan always wondered if it had anything to do with the scar she saw on his collar bone the one time he had worn a T-shirt around her.

Sonja just gave Beagan a look before asking, “Okay, is there anything else?”

“Yeah, just from our last conversation, I’d say he’s rather lazy and apathetic if I were being honest.” Beagan gave a noncommittal shrug as if she were trying to demonstrate the extent of the apathy she felt from Sans.

“I don’t know if I’d call him apathetic if he keeps coming back to see you, Bea,” Lucas said as he finally looked up at her, his blue eyes bright in the sunlight.

“Fair point.”

“Beagan, we have company,” Sonja said, pointing to the lizard monster, another caretaker, that was heading their way, “You haven’t tried one of your crazy escape plans lately, have you?”

“No, not lately. I’ve exhausted most of my resources on trying. Not like I can just fly out of the courtyard here,” Beagan responded. Lucas made a face that said, ‘Don’t even try,’ when Beagan paused, thoughtful.

The caretaker that approached knelt down near them, holding a hand out as he said, “Beagan, Doctor Sans is here to visit you.”

“Oh, okay,” Beagan said, stepping onto his hand.

“Are either of you ready to return to your rooms?” the caretaker asked Sonja and Lucas after Beagan was settled.

“Nope, I’m good,” Sonja responded, throwing her hair over her shoulder.

“I’d like to stay as well. Can you return my book though?” Lucas said as he stepped off the book and onto the concrete ground.

The caretaker nodded and picked up the book, taking care as to not jostle Beagan to much. Beagan waved goodbye to Lucas and Sonja as she was taken away by the caretaker into the visitors room. 

 

Inside she saw Sans talking with Eve and another, much taller skeleton was looking out the window to the courtyard where many Bitties were gathered talking or running around. This one was dressed in khaki pants and a red, collared shirt with a matching red scarf that was expertly draped across his back.

“She really has calmed down quite a bit since you started to come visit her. Are you sure you’re not thinking of adopting her?” Eve was saying to Sans.

“nah, she was quite clear on her opinion of being adopted,” Sans said before turning his attention to the caretaker who had just brought in Beagan.

“Well, I’ll let you have your visit in peace,” Eve said before turning and walking out to the front of the center.

“Hi Sans, who’s this that you’ve brought with you?” Beagan said, leaping down to the low table from the caretakers hand. She was going to ignore Eve and her comments for now and just enjoy the visit.

“hey kid. this is my bro, papyrus. pap, this is beagan, the bitty i told you about,” Sans said, pulling his brother away from the window by the elbow.

“Hello Bitty!” came the greeting from Papyrus. His voice was pitched slightly higher than Sans’ was. That, and Sans had warned Beagan that Papyrus could be loud, and he was loud, but someone must’ve had a talk with him about appropriate noise levels in the center. He was nowhere near the volume she had been expecting. 

“Hello Papyrus, it’s nice to finally meet you,” Beagan said politely, extending a hand out to shake his. He reached down and gently took her tiny hand in his massive, gloved one and gently bobbed it up and down twice. Now that she got a proper look at his face, she would definitely say he had an angular face with a square jaw and a large smile. 

“I’m Sorry You Had To Miss Dinner With Us. But I Suppose Rules Are Rules,” Papyrus said as he withdrew his hand. Beagan’s immediate thought was that this gentle giant of a skeleton was quite an endearing fellow.

“Sometimes breaking the rules is more fun,” She said with a smile. At his look of shock, she immediately switched gears. “You’re brother has told me a lot about you, maybe you can tell me a few stories about him next,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows at Sans. Sans just gave her a lazy smile and a small shrug.

“Perhaps When He Is Not Here. It Is Rude To Talk About Someone Who Is Listening,” Papyrus said with a conspiratorial grin.

“How very true. You are such a gentleman Papyrus,” Beagan giggled. She sat on the table and said to Sans, “So, to what do I owe this visit from you and your brother?”

“well, i was in the area and just thought i’d stop by,” Sans said with a shrug, taking his usual seat. 

Papyrus sat in the other chair and said, “That’s Not True. You Finished Your Business With Doctor Kenley Two Week’s Ago. You Asked If I Wanted To Join You When You Came To Visit The Bitty.” Beagan grinned and gave a small chuckle while watching Sans turn a light shade of blue.

“Well, looks like your brother just tattled on you. Don’t be such a bonehead, I knew my wily charms would win you over,” she teased. She froze for a second. Did this count as flirting? 

She gave herself a small shake when she heard Sans answer, “well, tibia honest, kid, ya managed to get under my skin.”

“SANS! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN’T MAKE THOSE AWFUL PUNS!” Papyrus shouted, leaping from his chair. Beagan had to cover her ears, this was a bit more like what she had expected, but the sudden volume change was still startling.

“Sir, I must ask you to lower your voice,” the caretaker who had brought in Beagan said.

“Ahem, Excuse Me,” Papyrus coughed, looking sheepish. He sat back down and calmly stated, “Bitty, Please Don’t Encourage My Brother. It Only Aggravates His Disease.”

“Punning is a disease?”

“Yes, And A Few Of Our Cousins Agree With Me.” He stated matter-of-factly. “I Don’t Want You To Succumb To It As Well.”

Beagan gave a very unladylike snort before putting a hand over her heart and her hand to her forehead, like she had seen in an old picture of someone fainting, and sighed dramatically, “Alas my dear, I fear I may have already been afflicted. Please, spread your good works to others, it is to late for me.” With that, she fell back so she was laying on the table. “Blegh.”

She heard Papyrus give a shriek before he started calling for the caretaker to, “Do something!” 

She then felt a clawed finger poke her side and the gentle, but firm voice of the caretaker say, “Beagan, that is quite enough. I understand you want to have fun, but I can’t have you scaring guests with your dramatics.”

Beagan sat up then and winked at the caretaker, “Sorry Doc, just thought I’d try to scare up some fun.” She turned to see Sans and Papyrus who were both just staring at her with amusement and horror respectively. “Sorry, Papyrus, I used to be in the drama club when I had been in high school and I couldn’t resist the opportunity. Improv just calls to me!”

The caretaker sighed and went back to the wall where he had been observing them and Papyrus took his seat. He was watching her carefully, almost as if he expected Beagan to sprout a second head. “That Was A Very Surprising Jape, Bitty. I Can Say I Wasn’t Expecting That.”

“I’m really sorry Papyrus.” Beagan said, looking up into his concerned face.

Sans spoke up then, “so, you like camping and you have a flare for the dramatics. what would be another hobby of yours? juggling?”

Beagan shook her head as she turned to face Sans. “Nooo, no juggling for me. I learned how to sing a little bit in drama club and I took dance lessons until I was a freshman. There were so many people who were better than me though, so I decided to just bow out gracefully and turn my attention elsewhere. Like, my dad and I started Larping the year after I graduated. That was fun.”

“Larping? What Is That?” Papyrus asked.

“Live action role play. You dress up and play as a character in a world you create. Or maybe another group may create something that you can join. It’s a lot of fun, but many people make jokes about it. Mostly because they think it’s a lot of adults playing make-believe rather than acting like adults, and they’d be right, but they’re missing out.” Beagan explained with a smile.

Beagan continued to explain her characters to the pair of skeletons, answering questions and even talking about the time Papyrus made his battle body with Sans.

“So do you still have it?” Beagan asked.

“Nyeh Heh Heh, Of Course I Do. It Still Makes For An Excellent Costume For Costume Parties.” Papyrus said proudly.

“What would you wear for a costume, Sans?”

“i usually go as a blind ghost.”

“What?”

Soon though it was time for the brothers to leave however and Beagan felt a small pang at the thought of saying goodbye. She wished she were big again, and able to visit them whenever she wanted, but quickly shook her head, pulling herself back from those darker thoughts. It wouldn’t do to dwell on things she wasn’t able to control.

“Well, We Shall See Each Other Again, Bitty,” Papyrus was saying as she shook herself from those thoughts. “Perhaps Next Time, We Will Bring Blue And His Brother Stretch.”

“I’d like to meet your cousins. If they’re anything like you, I’m sure they’re wonderful.” Beagan said with a smile.

Sans shot her a couple of finger guns as he was leaving through the door, saying, “see you next time kid.”

Once again, Beagan was making her way back to her room on the hand of a caretaker, contemplating her life here in the center and her life outside. When she got back to her room she finished the cleaning she had neglected to that morning. After a little while a knock sounded from her door. “Come in!” Beagan called, sliding across one of the shelves in her socks.

Eve walked in, a contemplative look on her face. “Hi Beagan. I wanted to speak to you about your visits from Sans.”

“What about him?” Beagan walked to the edge of the shelf and sat down.

“Well, I know your stance on adoption and what not, but I was curious if you ever considered being adopted by Sans and his family?” Eve asked as she leaned against one of the walls, watching Beagan carefully.

“Ha! Nope, not happening,” Beagan jumped up, walking towards the ladder, “I’m not some pet. I know that as ‘scientists’ you just see us as a new puzzle or some new astounding breakthrough, but obviously we’re not. We’re-”

“Completely sentient, with full range of thinking, emotion, wants, and needs. I know Bea, I’ve heard this before. What I’m talking about here though, is that more and more Bitties are being adopted. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the center is more empty than full these days. What will you do when you’re one of the last ones left? Even Lucas was considering adoption. Sonja is leaving next week.” Eve left the wall to look Beagan in the eyes. 

Sonja hadn’t told Beagan that she was accepting an adoption. Why? Why hadn’t she said anything? “All of your old roommates were adopted. I’m not trying to force you into any adoption. You at least like Sans, and from what I was told, you like his brother as well. I’m only asking you to consider. You claim you are still human, you should know that humans need contact with someone, anyone. When it’s just you, when we aren’t needed anymore, and it’s just Doctor Kenley, closing the center and opening a practice to help the sick and injured Bitties who’ve been adopted, where will you go?”

Eve walked away, leaving Beagan in a stunned silence. She opened the door and looked over her shoulder, saying, “Bea, I know you don’t trust any of us, but lease use the incredible amount of logic I know you have. We are trying to make sure you’ll be taken care of.” With that, she walked out, closing the door with a firm snap.


	5. What Do You Think?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here’s a new chapter! I think I’m going to try to stick to a schedule of posting every Sunday. Unless my impulse control completely leaves me and I decide to post a chapter early again.
> 
> Also, for those who celebrate it: Happy Easter and though it’s a month late, blessings of Ostara on you all.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Beagan and Sonja had gotten into an argument the day after Sans and Papyrus had visited when they were in the common area, the screaming match causing the Caretakers to have to intervene. Lucas had tried to split the girls up, but then Beagan turned on him too, angry that he might... They might... She just pushed Lucas away while the caretakers picked her and Sonja up, taking them out of the common area.

When the caretakers had taken Sonja and Beagan to a private room where they could talk, Beagan’s first question was, “Why? Why didn’t you tell me!?”

“Because I knew you would react like this! Bea, I want you to be happy, however you find that happiness, but I want to be happy too! I may not remember much about before, but I can remember a bit about my family. I can remember being happy with them and I wanted that again! I have that chance and I wanted to take it! I’m sorry that I disappointed you but I have to do what’s right for me!” Sonja took a gasping breath, tears in her eyes. She looked lost, like she was trying to remember something important, but she just ran her fingers through her hair and turned away from Beagan.

“Sonja, why did you think I would want you to give up your happiness for me? Were you not going to tell me at all? Would I wake up one day and you’d just be gone?” Beagan asked in a small voice, wrapping her arms around herself.

“That’s not- I didn’t-” Sonja growled before continuing, “Bea, you hate the thought of adoption. Like we’ll be treated like pets. Did you ever consider that maybe it’d be something like the adoption of a child?” Sonja asked critically.

Beagan just stared at her friend, feeling foolish and unsure of herself. “But the laws about Bitty leashes-”

“To keep others from running off with us maybe? To protect us? If someone’s holding onto the leash, it’s not like we can just be snatched up.” Sonja tossed her dark hair over her shoulder and stared Beagan down.

Beagan flopped down on the table they had been deposited on. Sonja went and sat down next to her as she laid back. “You know, as much as people like to call me logical and intelligent, I think they might be a little confused. I’m so stupid.” 

Sonja gave a long and loud laugh, gasping out, “I think that’s the closest I’ve ever heard you come to saying you were wrong about something.”

They sat and talked for a while, Beagan asking questions about Sonja’s new family. Beagan couldn’t help but think about how lonely she would be; Lucas too. Gods, what would she say to him when he had only tried to help? She was being a really rotten friend.

✧~*~✧~*~✧

It was the day Sonja was leaving the center. Beagan, Lucas, and another Bitty that Sonja had been roommates with were in the visitors room, saying goodbye. Sonja’s new family was a small one, a girl who looked to be about ten or eleven and her parents. 

Beagan swallowed her trepidation and moved to hug Sonja, saying quietly, “Be safe. I’ll miss you. If you can, please call. Or send a letter. Or friggin’ send it by Morse Code if you can. Just promise you’ll keep in touch?”

Sonja laughed and said, “I will Bea, I promise.” She squeezed Beagan tight in her embrace, while Beagan looked over her shoulder at the family who looked slightly uncomfortable. Beagan tried to not pay any attention to them, focusing everything on Sonja, trying to be happy for her friend. As Sonja moved away to hug her roommate, Beagan sidled up to Lucas.

“Hey, it’s gonna be just you and me from now on. How will you ever handle me and my smart mouth?” she joked, nudging him with her elbow.

Lucas smirked at her and said, “I have access to duct tape. I think I’ll survive.”

Beagan smiled at him, moving over when Sonja came over and threw her arms over Beagan’s and Lucas’ shoulders. “You two will behave yourselves without me around, right? Don’t make me come back just to kick your asses.”

Lucas snorted as he said, “Are we forgetting that I’m the good one? It’s obviously Bea that needs looking after.”

Beagan stuck her tongue out at them, making the two of them laugh out loud. “Well, I know when I’m not wanted, you two love birds have your fun,” she said petulantly.

“Bea, come back, you know I only have room in my dark, shriveled heart for you,” Sonja whimpered, throwing her arms around Beagan’s waist.

“Yeah Bea, you know that you have a harem of us all waiting to throw ourselves at you. You are our queen! Who would lead the lunch-time revolutions if you weren’t there!” Lucas chuckled, grabbing Sonja’s waist to help pull Beagan back.

“All right you three,” Doctor Kenley said, picking up Beagan and Lucas. “Sonja, it’s time to go. We will miss you here at the center.”

“Yeah,” Sonja said quietly, looking at the her new family. “I’ll miss all my friends too.”

The little girl held her hand out to Sonja, who climbed on. The little girl then looked at Beagan and Lucas in Doctor Kenley’s hands and said, “I promise, I’ll take good care of her. I’ll help her send you a letter when we get home, that way you can come visit when you get your own families.”

Beagan just stared at the little girl, at a complete loss for words. Lucas came to her rescue when he responded, “That’ll be nice. Thank you.”

“Y-yeah, thanks. She’s my best friend you know, so I expect nothing but the best for her.” Beagan muttered. The little girl smiled at them and turned to her parents with Sonja in her hands. Sonja waved goodbye as she left the room with her new family. As soon as the door closed behind them with a soft click, Beagan started bawling. She had felt the tears welling up and had pushed them away, but now? She had kept her promise to herself and hadn’t cried before Sonja was gone.

Lucas jumped from the hand Doctor Kenley was holding him in, to the one Beagan was held in. He pulled her to him, holding her in his arms. “Shhh... Bea, it’s okay, we’ll see her again.”

“I’m going to miss her...” Beagan whispered, sniffling as she cried.

“Me too,” Lucas whispered into Beagan’s hair as Doctor Kenley took them away to their rooms.

✧~*~✧~*~✧

It had been a couple days since Sonja had left and Beagan and Lucas hadn’t spoken much when they were together. Instead, they sat around reading books and listening to music. One of the caretakers made a comment that they were almost nigh inseparable when they were in the same room together. They were left alone for the most part, the caretakers deciding that it would be best to let them stay together when Beagan started acting lost when she was separated from her remaining friend. 

It came as a surprise when Eve came into the common room looking for Beagan. “Doctor Sans is here to see you with his cousins, Beagan,” she said, looking from her to Lucas who was helping her turn a page in the book they were reading.

“Oh... Can I take Lucas with me? Please?” Beagan wanted to meet more of the skeletons, but she didn’t want to leave Lucas alone. ~~She didn’t want to be left alone.~~ Lucas stared at her, but didn’t say anything as Eve hesitated before nodding, holding her hand out for the two to step onto. Beagan stepped on first then held out her hand for Lucas. He paused for just a moment before taking her hand to step up alongside her.

“Bea, do you think I should really meet them?” Lucas asked her quietly as they went down the hallway towards the meeting room.

“Yeah, they- well, Sans, is pretty cool. I haven’t met these cousins of his, but I’m pretty sure it’d be Blue at least, and maybe his younger brother? Papyrus mentioned him, but didn’t say much else. I don’t think I even know his name. But I don’t think Sans would bring his ‘difficult’ cousins,” Beagan replied just as quietly.

Lucas took hold of Beagan’s hand as Eve opened the door and brought them into the room. Beagan saw Sans sitting in his usual spot with two other skeletons occupying the other seat. One, who was seated on the seat of the chair, looked a lot like Sans, if maybe slightly shorter and with better fashion sense. He wore a baby blue bandanna and a dark grey t-shirt with blue jeans and what looked like work boots. The other skeleton was sitting on the arm of the chair with the Sans look-a-like. He looked a bit like Papyrus, with a slightly softer face, less angled when Beagan got a look at him. He was wearing cargo shorts and an orange pull-over hoodie. He was rolling a sucker stick around in his mouth and he gave her and Lucas a soft smile when they were brought in.

Beagan remembered then, Blues’ brother was named Stretch, and just by looking at these two, she felt she knew who was who.

Eve set her hand down on the table and Beagan and Lucas stepped off quickly. Beagan gave a small wave to the two new skeletons as Lucas stared up at them, his grip on Beagan’s hand tight.

“hey kid,” Sans said in greeting. He had a soft smile on his face, looking her over before shifting his gaze to Lucas.

“Hi Sans. Uh- um.. Th-this is Lucas. He’s one of my friends here at the center,” Beagan said shyly. She didn’t know why, maybe it was because of the two new skeletons?

“hey lucas. my name is sans. sans the skeleton.” Lucas waved his free hand when Sans addressed him.

“Hello Bitties! I Am The Magnificent Blue! It’s Good To Finally Meet You, Although I Thought There Was Only One, Sans.” Blue’s voice was a sweet tenor as he greeted Beagan and Lucas.

“well, there was. this is the first time i’ve ever met her friend,” Sans replied gently.

“hey honey, bud. i’m blue’s brother, stretch. it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Stretch reached out a hand to Beagan and Lucas. Beagan dropped Lucas’ hand to take Stretch’s smallest phalange in her hand as Lucas took the one above it and they both gave them a small shake.

“Pleasure’s all mine. Papyrus mentioned you two. I’m Beagan.” She gave him a small smile, lowering herself to sit on the table top. Lucas followed her example and sat.

“Bea has told me quite a bit about Sans and his brother. It’ll be nice to get to know you,” Lucas said, giving a small, strained smile. He looked nervous. It wasn’t because they were monsters, there were plenty of monsters who worked at the center. Why?

Beagan looked over Lucas to see Blue and Sans having a quiet discussion. She decided to try and distract Lucas with a discussion about the story they had been reading. “Stretch, do you like to read? Lucas found the most engaging story that we’ve been reading lately.”

Lucas gave her a strange look before he grinned, a real one this time. “I knew you’d like it. You love ghost stories and are really into fantasy.”

“what’s the story about?” Stretch asked, leaning forward to rest his elbow on his knee.

“It’s a story about an apprentice mage who went to help a group of people release a curse on an old sacred tree. But she didn’t really know any spells on breaking curses, so she improvised. She wound up releasing the spirit of the tree who had been locked away with the curse and it took on a physical form,” Beagan told him excitedly.

“sounds interesting, what’s the title?” Stretch said with a smile.

“Oh, um.. I don’t know. It’s in French. I mean, the story was translated to English, but the title on the cover is still French.” Beagan said bashfully.

“L’Apprenti et la Fée de Bruyère,” Lucas said smoothly. “It literally means ‘The Apprentice and the Briar Fairy’ so it should be pretty easy to find.”

“hm, i’ll look into it,” Stretch said with a smile. 

Beagan grinned as se leaned back on her arms as Lucas and Stretch started swapping different books that they read. Stretch was apparently a fan of some of the classics, like Tolkien and Lewis, which both Beagan and Lucas were happy to discuss. Sans jumped in, talking about Greek and Roman classical literature. Blue contributed some science fiction stories, which absolutely thrilled Lucas, so he and Blue broke off to discuss some of their favorite sci-fi shows as Sans and Stretch talked with Beagan about her interest in fantasy stories.

“You wanna know my favorite story?” Beagan asked the boys when there was a lull in the conversation. 

Lucas grinned and joked, “The book adaptation of Cowboys Vs. Aliens?”

“Ha ha ha,” she laughed sarcastically. “No, it’s The Secret Garden. I’ve always loved that story. I don’t even know why.”

“Oh, I Know That One!” Blue said excitedly, his eye lights turning into bright stars. Beagan was captivated, she’d never seen something like that. “I Found A Copy Of It In The Dump Once! Papy And I Read It From Cover To Cover A Couple Of Times.” Beagan smiled at the excited Skeleton.

“What about you?” she asked Stretch, figuring that Blue would’ve likely shared it with his brother as well. “What did you think?”

“it was interesting. the thought that one little girl would have the power to change so many people is astounding.” Stretch said thoughtfully.

“I think it was more about the courage to let people in and the power to change yourself,” Lucas said, stroking his chin.

“maybe it was a bit of both,” Sans said neutrally. “though i’ve never read the book, so i guess i have homework for next time.” He smiled at Beagan, who smiled right back. Blue and Stretch started talking about the story a little more, and the other books they had found in the dump that weren’t completely ruined by the water. 

Beagan leaned back again as Lucas leaned over and whispered in her ear, “These guys aren’t bad at all. I think they’d be good for you, you know.” Beagan gave him an annoyed glare, but didn’t make any comment. A short time later, it was time for the skeletons to leave once again. 

It wasn’t until Beagan was in her room that night that she realized that this visit had been early. She briefly wondered if the excitable Blue was to blame before she drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos to anyone who might get the secret reference I left in this chapter. Gotta love doing research and inspiration hunting. Give me all sorts of fun things to sprinkle in.


	6. We Need to Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! It’s Sunday! Woo-hoo!
> 
> So, no skele-boys in this chapter, but there is some character development... kinda...  
> I’ve been sitting on this chapter, writing and re-writing it, I’ve been going nuts. I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> Thanks for reading!

“Beagan, what do you think you’re doing?” Beagan did her best to hide her surprised flinch. She was trying to escape again. She knew Kenley probably knew that.

“I was thinking of taking up parkour,” she said with the most innocent smile she could muster. She was in one of the exam rooms and had been left alone for a moment. She decided to take advantage of it and was on top of a cabinet trying to reach the vent in the room. She was gonna find Lucas and take him with her this time though. She was tired of people trying to push her into adoption. She couldn’t argue with Sonja’s logic, but it had been a couple weeks since she had left and neither Beagan or Lucas had heard from her.

“Indeed,” Kenley said, obviously not buying her excuse. They reached up and held their hand out to Beagan, who obediently stepped on. As the doctor brought Beagan back to the exam table, she pouted. The doctor began to speak again, “Beagan, I know Eve has spoken to you about adoption. I want you to know that I didn’t approve of the way she handled that situation. I know you feel as though you have few freedoms here, and you honestly do, but I won’t make you go with anyone unless it’s your choice.”

Beagan stared up at the doctor, her mouth agape. What? Why were they-? What? Kenley never seemed to- What?! She stumbled from their hand and onto the exam table, unsure of what to say to them. 

Kenley continued with the exam in silence, as if nothing was said. Beagan’s mind was running a mile a minute, unsure of how to cope with what the doctor said. What were they saying, ‘I won’t _make_ you go with anyone.’ What was that about? Granted, she had never actually been present for any of the adoption process, and she knew Sonja had chosen her family, more-or-less. What about Lucas? She wasn’t going to leave Lucas on his own, she knew that. But she did recall what Eve had said, that Lucas was considering adoption.

After Kenley finished, they took Beagan back to her room. She managed to get her thoughts in some semblance of order and turned to look up at the doctor. Might as well ask. “Doc? What- what if I said that I might consider adoption, if Lucas were adopted first? He- I don’t wanna leave him alone. It’d be- I’d feel awful. I-if I left him alone, I mean,” she stumbled through her words. She started tugging on a lock of her hair, eyes down-cast.

“Bea, if that’s what you want, that’s your decision,” Kenley said kindly. “It’s actually a funny thing, Lucas had something similar to me yesterday.”

Beagan’s head shot up to look him in the eye. He wasn’t leaving unless she had a family too? What was he thinking? Why would he? “Can I talk to him? Can you take me to him? Please?” she begged, grabbing hold of the doctors sleeve. They gave her a kind smile and picked her back up.

“I think that can be arranged,” Kenley said, carrying her back out of the room. The doctor carried her down the hall and opened a door, poking their head inside. “Lucas, can I borrow you for a moment?”

Beagan heard a muffled reply, as she was being held away from the door. When Kenley pulled out of the doorway, they held Lucas in their other hand. When Lucas saw her, she could see his surprise. “Hey, Bea,” he said quietly.

“Hi,” she responded. Did she really want to have this discussion now? Well, to late to back out now. “I need to talk to you.”

“Oh... okay.”

Kenley took the two off to an unused room and set the two Bitties down on a table and stepped away with their back to the door. Beagan took a seat and motioned to the space in front of her, telling Lucas silently that she wanted him to sit. Lucas paused for just a moment, looking apprehensive, but he sat anyways. Beagan crossed her legs and rested her elbows on her knees, her chin in her hands, staring slightly over Lucas’ shoulder.

“So, we need to talk,” She started, not looking Lucas right in the face. She didn’t want to freak him out by staring him in the eyes, but wanting to keep his face in her line of sight. Lucas’ look of apprehension turned into a frown.

“Are you angry about something?” She pursed her lips and shifted her gaze to look him in the eyes. She still wasn’t certain how to start. Best to rip it off like a band-aid maybe.

“Do you want to be adopted?” Lucas immediately froze so Beagan hastily continued, “I’m not angry if you’ve decided that’s what you want. I just need to know, from you, if that is what you want.” 

Lucas shifted in his spot and licked his lips before he began, “I’m not- I mean- I,” he gave a growl of frustration before he continued, “Bea, I want to be adopted, yes. I would like a second chance out there. But... I don’t want to leave you on your own.” He narrowed his bright blue eyes at her and said, “You’re so stubborn, I don’t know if you’ll ever be adopted and the thought of you living the rest of your life here, however long that might be, leaves a terrible taste in my mouth.”

They stared at each other for a long moment before Beagan gave a very unladylike snort. “You’re so stupid,” she said with a snicker. Lucas gave her a wide-eyed stare and gaped. “Do you really think that if you left I wouldn’t try harder to escape? Or maybe even give in to the whole idea of adoption?” Lucas looked away and gave a small shrug.

“I dunno,” he muttered. Beagan gave a small huff.

“I don’t want to leave you either,” she murmured to him. That got him to look up at her, confusion clear on his face.

“Why?”

“Because- because- I don’t know! With Sonja gone, if I were to leave, it would mean you would be alone. I know you don’t have many friends, in fact it’s just you and me left from our original group. I don’t want you to think you’re responsible for me and my happiness, it’s not your job.” She huffed out a breath, staring hard at Lucas.

“My happiness isn’t your job either Bea,” he growled at her. “Friends do things for friends because they want to, they do things to show they care-”

Beagan cut him off, shouting, “Doing so at the expense of your own happiness isn’t healthy! You need to take care of yourself first, then your friends!”

“You don’t want anyone to take care of you, ever! You don’t wanna let anyone in!” Lucas shouted back. They had both jumped to their feet and were standing now, though she was now staring up at him. He was always a lot taller than she was.

“I don’t need anyone to look out for me! I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself!” Her face and eyes were hot and Lucas looked furious. Beagan had never seen him so mad. “I want you guys to be happy in your own lives! You don’t need me, and when you’re adopted, you’ll forget about me and move on with your life!”

“I still want you in it!” Lucas had grabbed her shoulders and had lifted her slightly, bringing his face closer to hers. Beagan heard Kenley move but she was too busy staring into Lucas’ face, trying to figure out what he had just said. She wriggled free of his grasp and dropped back to her feet.

“What?”

Lucas turned a bright red, and began stammering. Beagan held up her hand to stop him and looked away before she asked, “Please don’t tell me this is some weird confession. ‘Cause this is a really bad time for it.”

Lucas barked out a laugh, causing Beagan to jump. She stared up at him as a wry smile crossed his face and he shook his head at her. “No, Bea, I can honestly say it’s not like that. No, it’s- it’s more like your my sister.” He gave a sigh and ran his hands through his hair, sitting back down. Beagan sat down across from him again, waiting to see if he would speak.

After a few moments, Lucas took a deep breath and started, “Beagan, when I was a kid, I had a little sister. She was amazing. I was about four when she was born and I had fallen in love with her the second I was brought in to see her. If you told me she had hung the moon, I wouldn’t have doubted it. That’s not to say she was perfect, no she got on my nerves plenty and I knew I tormented her more than was probably necessary.” He gave Beagan a lopsided grin, but it fell to a troubled frown rather quickly. 

“When she was eighteen, about a year before the monsters appeared, we had a huge fight. I don’t even remember what it was about, probably about some stupid boy, but we were in my car, driving home from a concert. A drunk driver had swerved into our lane and hit the car on her side. It was so bad, I couldn’t-” he let out a shuddering breath, tears starting to form in his eyes. Beagan reached out a hand and took hold of his, giving it a small squeeze. She understood his scar now, and why he acted the way he did sometimes. She just held his hand a little more firmly, willing some of her own strength into him so that he could continue.

Lucas took another breath, sniffling a little and continuing, “I barely remember anything from that night. But I remember begging someone, _anyone_ to save her. It was too late though. She had died from the impact of the other car. I woke up in the hospital nearly a month later. I blamed myself for a long time, because I felt like it was my fault she was gone. After a little while, people started turning into Bitties, myself included.” He looked up a Beagan and gave a watery smile, squeezing her hand. 

Beagan wiped at the tears that had fallen, trying to regain control of her emotions. She could remember the chaos of the first week or so when the Bitties started to appear, thankful that everything had been sorted out quickly, if a bit unfairly. But this was not about her, this was Lucas’ story. She gave him a small smile, encouraging him to finish, though she had a feeling she knew where this story was going.

“When I was brought here, who’s the first Bitty I meet who isn’t weirded out because I’m so tall for one of our kind? It was you. You came up to me with this look in your eye that made me think you might punch someone, probably me. You looked absolutely wild that day, I didn’t know what to expect. But instead you stuck out your hand and shook mine. You told me I was going to eat lunch with you and just the way you said it left no room for argument. I was so surprised, I couldn’t say a word. Then you introduced me to Sonja and everyone else and told ‘em-”

Beagan jumped in, “He’s gonna sit with us now. You don’t like it? You can kindly fuck off.” She smiled back at Lucas. “I remember. No one said a word, just moved down to make space for you.” 

“I still don’t know how you became our ringleader,” Lucas said with a smirk.

“Oh no, that was all Sonja. She was the mastermind in the prank wars and the lunch-time revolutions. I was just the figurehead,” Beagan threw out quickly. Lucas just gave her a knowing smirk and they fell into a comfortable silence.

After a few minutes, Beagan said, “If you’ve found a family Lucas, you can go, you know. I don’t mind. I’ll miss you like crazy, but we can keep in touch. I’ll demand a phone number, mailing address, birthdates and the last four numbers of each family member’s social security numbers if I have to.” Lucas laughed at that, shaking his head at the look on Beagan’s face. 

She had succeeded in one mission, now for the next. “Seriously though, don’t put off your happiness for mine, because then we’ll just both be miserable. I’m not gonna say that I’m happy when you’re happy, because that doesn’t mean anything either. I will feel better when I know you’re happy though, and yes, there is a difference.”

“The same goes for you Beagan. I want you to find people who make you happy. Don’t try to go through all of this on your own,” Lucas said rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand.

The two of them had sat like that for a only moment when Lucas gave her a small smile and pulled her into his lap for a hug. She began blushing, but just puffed out her cheeks and wrapped her arms around him to reciprocate. His hug was nice, warm and friendly, and she wanted to make sure that he knew she understood everything he was trying to say with his hug.

“You’re so stupid,” she murmured into his shoulder before she pulled away.

“I know,” came his cheeky reply, a smirk forming across his lips. Beagan swatted his shoulder and turned to see Kenley just looking on with a soft smile.

“Alright Doc, take us back now. I think that’s enough emotional turmoil for one day,” Beagan said to the doctor, moving out of Lucas’ lap to stand up. Kenley moved forward, extending their hand out to lift the two Bitties. Beagan offered her hand to Lucas to help him stand and together they rode Kenley’s hand back to their rooms, Beagan telling Lucas to have a good night when they stopped at his door. 

When she was deposited in her room she pulled out the Polaroid of her father and told him all about the talk she had with Lucas before deciding to turn in for the night. She decided that maybe she just might have a talk with Sans about a possible adoption. That would be nice. She liked him and all the others. There was one thing giving her pause: She didn’t even know if he would want to adopt her. Maybe he might know someone who would want her. Maybe they would work with her so she could have something close to what she wanted. A lot of maybes flitted around in her head before she fell fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been thinking of starting a tumblr page or something, but I haven’t decided yet. Would anyone even visit it?


	7. Was I Wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I’m posting today because there won’t be a chapter on Sunday. I just got the news that my grandpa passed away and his funeral is on Monday. I’ll try to have a chapter ready for next Sunday.
> 
> Thanks for reading guys.

Beagan and Lucas had come to a certain understanding and wouldn’t talk about adoption unless it was news about a potential family. Lucas often had more to share than Beagan, since Beagan was still only seeing Sans and his family, and she still hadn’t talked to Sans about him possibly adopting her, or maybe if he knew someone who would want her. She pushed those thoughts away, the new story they were reading was far more interesting than her own thoughts.

Beagan and Lucas were in the common room reading again. It had been several weeks since Sonja had left, but they had received news. Her new family had moved soon after they had taken her home. Beagan found that to be odd and rather... convenient, but her friend had said she was fine and was happy, so she decided to trust what she had been sent. Lucas had been trying to hep distract Beagan and together they had burned through many of the books that were in the multiple common rooms. This book, though, their newest prize, had been a gift from Stretch, and Lucas and Beagan loved it.

“Jeez, Bea, did she burn the real flag or didn’t she? This friggin’ traitor scum is gonna give me a heart attack,” Lucas groaned. Beagan giggled quietly, they were reading about a group of pirates this time and the first mate had been one of Beagan’s and Lucas’ favorite characters, so when she had turned traitor, it was a complete shock.

“My money is on no, she didn’t burn it. Bennaugh is probably gonna be the one who finds where she hid it,” she chirped, moving so that she and Lucas could turn the page to the next chapter. They didn’t get a chance to start it though, as two caretakers came up to collect Lucas and Beagan. 

There was a young couple that Lucas had met and was considering leaving the canter with. Beagan was happy for him and tried to support him as best as she could. He was excited, so, though she was nervous, she let his infectious joy sweep her up as well. Sans and his brother were there to see Beagan too, so Lucas and Beagan would be splitting up to go meet with their visitors.

“Can you take our book back to my room?” Beagan asked, helping Lucas close the book after he tucked in the bookmark.

“Certainly,” said one of the caretakers, a bunny monster with blue-grey fur. She held out her hand to Beagan and lifted her into the air, carrying her away from Lucas, who was talking with the human caretaker who was going to take him off to one of the other meeting rooms. 

Down the hall, through the doors, past the cafeteria, and through another set of doors, Beagan just kept reminding herself to breathe. She was just going to talk with Sans and Papyrus, she had spoken with them before, on quite a few occasions, this time she was just going to discuss adoption, it wasn’t so bad, she’d totally be able to do this.

The caretaker opened the door and Beagan saw the brothers. It wasn’t just one set of the brothers or another, either. All four of them were there. Beagan dropped her head back in a silent scream and took a deep breath. She could still do this with all four of them here, she could swallow her pride and admit she might’ve been wrong. She’d already done so with Lucas and Kenley; she could do this with these four. 

“Hello Miss Beagan!” called Blue from one side of the table. He was setting up a board game, it looked like Clue based on the cards and pieces.

“Hi Blue, hi guys,” she said, nodding to Blue and the other three skeletons. She hopped from the caretakers hand as Papyrus moved to stand over her.

He leaned close to Beagan and asked, “Miss Beagan, You Have Been Keeping Out Of Trouble, Haven’t You?”

“Of course, Pap,” Beagan laughed, “I haven’t had time to misbehave with the new book Lucas and I have been reading. Thanks for getting that for us, Stretch.” Stretch chuckled and gave a small nod, helping Blue finish setting up the board. Beagan walked across the table to the game board and snatched up the token for Mrs. Peacock. “Dibs!” she cried.

“Miss Beagan, You Need To Leave It In The Starting Space,” Blue scolded her, although he was failing in trying to give her a disapproving look. 

Beagan smiled sweetly and made to put the piece back before she said, “You gotta catch me if you want it back!” She took off running down the table and took a leap off the edge, the token held tight in her grasp.

“Beagan!” came Papyrus’ startled cry. She gave a maniacal laugh and ducked under one of the chairs.

“ya know, kid, that didn’t work out the last time you tried to run,” came Sans calm, smooth voice, tinged with laughter.

“Ye shall not best me!” Beagan cried in her best pirate voice.

“cap’n, me thinks the wench plans to make off with our booty.” That voice belonged to Stretch. Beagan kept back a giggle, excited that he was playing along. A deep laugh carried through the air and Beagan had to stick her head out to see who it was.

It was Sans who was laughing as a full smile had graced his features. She had never heard him laugh like that before. She also saw Blue’s confused face turn to one of merriment. Papyrus, on the other hand, looked absolutely bewildered and lost.

“Mweh-heh! Captain! I’ve Spotted The Lass, Permission To Persue!” Blue said excitedly.

“permission granted, master blue! turn the ship and unfurl the sails,” Sans commanded with a twinkle in his eye. Blue gave another delightful laugh before he pulled Stretch around to the other side of one of the chairs. Sans turned to Papyrus then and barked, “master papyrus, prepare to board. as soon as masters blue and stretch have brought us along side, we shall board and retrieve the stolen jewel.”

Papyrus looked confused only a moment longer, before smiling and saying, “Aye, Captain.” Beagan giggled and ducked back beneath the chair, skittering along one side and pulling herself up to the seat and then onto an arm rest.

“Captain Sans!” she called, getting his attention. She couldn’t see what Stretch and Blue were doing, but from Blue’s chuckling, she knew she’d need to keep an eye on them. Sans eye-lights trained on her, giving her his full attention. “I would parley with ye Captain! I have no crew and me ship be nothin’ more than a floatin’ hull. Give me a chance to speak my piece before ye send me to the dark depths.”

“nay, wench! you would bewitch my crew and steal the rest of my jewels,” Sans replied, stepping onto the chair opposite hers. He turned to Stretch and commanded, “master stretch, fire when ready!”

“aye, cap’n!” came the reply. Stretch turned to face Beagan and said, “yer curse ends here, ye sea witch!” With that, she saw something bright blue fly through the air and land a few inches away from where she was standing. It was a blue handkerchief that had been weighted with something. 

She knew instantly what Blue and Stretch had been doing. It wasn’t like they could just go and push all the furniture around, the chairs were nearly a thousand times Beagan’s size, but they could “fire” at her “ship”, and fire they did. Two more handkerchiefs flew at her that she did her best to dodge, but when they threw Blue’s bandanna at her, she knew she was in trouble. It landed over her head, effectively trapping her. She heard Blue give a whoop as she was forced to her knees under the oppressive material. It smelled clean, if a bit chalky, so she was thankful for small favors.

She began crawling her way to the edge as she heard the skeletons laugh and cheer, and she couldn’t help her smile when she poked her head out. The boys were smiling and laughing together as Sans made his way over to Beagan’s chair.

“well, lass, seems i’ll be taking my treasure from you now,” he said with a smile. Beagan just grinned up at him and pulled herself out a little further from under the bandanna and held out the token to Sans. 

Papyrus lifted the bandanna off of her back and said, “Captain, What Shall We Do With Our Prisoner?”

“me thinks we shall keep her, she might have useful information on the murder of master boddy,” Sans replied with a smile lifting Beagan from the chair and moving her to the table next to Mrs. Peacock’s starting place. It was the first time Sans had picked up Beagan since he started visiting her, and her only response was to hang limply in his boney hand as he moved her around. She made her decision. She would talk to him today. Yes, today, it would happen. 

‘Don’t over think it!’ Beagan thought to herself.

“You guys ready to get schooled?” she challenged her friends.

“Miss Bea, It Shall Be You Who Will Be Schooled!” declared Papyrus. And the game began. Beagan found it was much harder to play against the skeletons than she had originally thought. Even Blue, the most expressive of the skeletons, had an impressive poker face. Beagan found that they all did have tells though, so she watched for the slight twitch in Sans’ constant smile, the way Stretch’s eyebrows came together ever so slightly, the slight tap of Papyrus’ gloved hands. With a few well placed guesses and more than a few lucky rolls, she felt confident when she went to present her accusation.

“It was you, Colonel Mustard! In the billiards room with the wrench!” Beagan proclaimed, pointing at Stretch, one hand on her hip. Everyone gave appropriate gasps at the accusation and Beagan felt a bit of smug satisfaction when nobody jumped in immediately to tell her she was wrong.

“Let’s See, Brother,” Blue said with grim look. He lifted the evidence envelope and pulled out the cards. Laying them out, there it was, Beagan had been correct. She gave a cheer and fist-pumped the air, excited and happy. 

“good guess, hon,” Stretch said with a smile. He leaned back in his chair and sank into his hoodie, looking content and sleepy.

Sans’ smile fell a little when he looked at the clock and said, “Sorry to ruin the moment guys, but we gotta pack up. Red and Rus are gonna be waiting for us.”’

There were collective groans from Beagan, Blue and Papyrus. Stretch just gave Sans a nod and began packing up the pieces of the game as Blue moved the furniture back into place. Beagan turned to Papyrus, “Who are Red and Rus?”

“They Are More Of Our... Family. They Can Be A Bit Rougher Than Us, But They Do Mean Well. They Are Watching The House Right Now,” Papyrus said after a slight pause. 

“Oh, will I get to meet them too?” Beagan asked. She had never heard of them. She had a feeling they were the “difficult” cousins Sans had mentioned.

“unlikely, kid. they’re a bit too rough to come here,” Sans said, pulling his jacket around himself a little more snugly.

“Oh,” was all Beagan could say. But even some of the rougher people Beagan had met were misguided and were looking for a second chance. She wasn’t naive enough to believe that everyone could be good, that was a foolish concept. But some people would flourish if given guidance and a chance to prove themselves. She pushed the thought away and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She had other things to talk about today.

“Don’t Worry Miss Beagan,” Blue began, pushing the last chair back into it’s place, “I’m Sure They Would Love To Meet You If They Weren’t So Busy. They Also Have Very Busy Jobs, So They Don’t Have A Lot Of Free Time.”

Beagan smiled at Blue and gave a small shake of her head. “It’s okay Blue, I may get to meet them, I may not, either way, I got to make friends with you guys.” Now or never, may as well have the conversation. How was she going to do this? Just say it. Say it.

“you’re real sweet to say that, honey,” Stretch said with a grin. Blue and Papyrus both groaned in exasperation at the pun.

“What can I say? You’re all quite charming. I- I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about, Sans, before you leave,” Beagan said, tugging on a lock of her hair nervously.

“what’s up?” Sans said, his eye lights upon her. Beagan gave another tug on her hair and took a deep breath. Why was she so nervous? She could say this to him.

Another fortifying breath and she shakily said, “It’s about me being adopted.” Suddenly everyone stopped moving and she could feel all of them looking at her. Her throat closed up on her, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Have You Found A Family?” Papyrus asked after a moment of silence.

“No,” she said quietly, her voice returning to her. “But, um, I-I’ve been thinking and doing a bit of talking and, we-well,” she cleared her throat, why was she suddenly so afraid? “I was curious if you guys might know someone who would consider adopting me. O-or maybe even, ya know, adopt me into your family?”

They were all silent for a long, never-ending minute. Then Blue suddenly jumped up and cupped Beagan into his hands, giving a joyous shout. Papyrus picked up Blue and swung him around, with Beagan nearly falling from the sudden movement. 

“Hold it!” Sans said loudly. It was the first time Beagan had ever heard him raise his voice, and it didn’t sound nearly as joyful as Blue or Papyrus. Papyrus set Blue down and Blue set Beagan back on the table. 

After regaining her balance, Beagan turned to look at Sans, with Stretch behind him. Stretch looked rather pleased, but Sans looked... concerned? Worried? Apprehensive might be the word.

“kiddo, it’s wonderful that you want to be adopted, but-” he broke off and scratched the back of his skull. Beagan’s heart sank. ‘But.’ He was gonna say no. That’s what she had been afraid of. Just a simple word. No.

“But Sans, I Think We’d Be An Excellent Family For Beagan,” Blue said, putting his hand behind her.

“I Agree With Blue,” Papyrus said. Beagan turned to look at the sweet skeletons. She felt like she might cry, her eyes were hot and stung with unshed tears.

“pap, blue, i know you wanna take her home, but i don’t know if that’s a good idea-” Sans started again before he was cut off by Stretch.

“sans, we’ve been coming here for weeks, gettin’ to know bea. we all grew attached to her, you included.” Sans went to say something before Stretch continued quickly, “don’t deny it, we all know you have. it’s not just a lie, it’s cruel to say somethin’ like that in front of her.” 

Beagan felt a blush creeping into her cheeks and down her neck. She knew she had grown attached to the skeletons, but the thought that she might never see them again if they said no, had been a distant thought in her mind. It seemed like it might come true here. 

A tear spilled down her cheek, but she just lowered her head and listened when Papyrus spoke up. “Sans, Brother, It May Sound Selfish, But I Think Miss Beagan Would Be Good For All Of Us. Even The Others At Home. She Has Been Such A Good Influence On You. You’re Not As Absorbed In Your Work Anymore And You’ve Taken Interest In New Things. Let’s Take Her Home And Let Her Be Part Of Our Family.”

“papyrus,” Sans whispered, a helpless note in his voice.

“Please, Sans,” Beagan pleaded quietly, looking up into his eye-lights as he gazed down at her helplessly. His eye sockets slipped shut and he took a deep breath, sighing through his nose hole. She heard her heartbeat in her ears as she waited for ten long seconds.

When he opened his eyes, there seemed to be a slight resignation to his features. Then he looked up at the ceiling and said in a sarcastic voice, “fine, we’ll take the bitty home.”

Papyrus and Blue let out a loud cheer and started dancing around the table. Stretch clapped Sans on the shoulder, a huge grin on his face, as they started talking to the caretaker. Beagan felt as if she could soar, as if her very soul was singing in joy.


	8. Going Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back. I’m gonna miss my grandpa, but his funeral service was lovely.
> 
> I did make a tumblr: https://sloaneconriao3.tumblr.com/
> 
> I have official artwork of Beagan up there already, so if anyone wants to know how I imagine her, feel free to take a look.
> 
> I also don’t know how to make links on here, so I’m doin’ what I know. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Beagan had her arms tight around Lucas’ waist. It was the day for both of them to leave. It had only taken a week to get all the paperwork sorted out and the Bitties were ready to go. The young couple that Lucas had been talking to had decided to take Lucas home the same day that Beagan had talked to the skeletons, so neither would be left alone. In order for Beagan and Lucas to say goodbye to one another, everyone was in a meeting room usually used by the staff due to the large number of people. While Beagan and Lucas were saying goodbye, Stretch and Blue were talking with Alex and Sam, the couple that had adopted Lucas. Sans was talking with Kenley and Papyrus was watching over the Bitties as they were saying their goodbyes.

“I’m gonna miss you, Bea,” Lucas murmured into her hair. He was down on one knee so that they were on a similar level.

“You’re so stupid,” Beagan said, pulling back to look him in the eye. She brushed his hair out of his face and said, “We might see each other again. After all, we have each other’s new addresses. We can always call each other or something, not like we can’t borrow someone’s phone. We’ll get Sonja in on it too. I’ll work on sending both of you letters as soon as I get home, okay?”

Lucas gave a small nod and gave her another tight hug, before standing and turning to walk over to Sam and Alex. “We’re ready to go.”

“Okay, hun,” Sam said, reaching out their hand for Lucas to climb into. Beagan turned to Papyrus and climbed into his outstretched hand as well. This was it, the start of a new adventure. 

Beagan looked to each of the skeletons as a wave of bitter-sweet melancholy took hold. She was leaving the center, the very thing she had wanted, if not in the way she imagined; but she was leaving behind a friend. Her stomach turned and her heart skipped a few beats. Elation and terror. Excitement and loss. Happiness and anxiety. So many conflicting emotions that she didn’t know how to deal with. She sat in Papyrus’ hand and dug her fingers into the fabric of his gloves, breathing slowly, trying to calm her raging sea of emotions.

“Beagan, are you alright?” Papyrus asked quietly, as Stretch and Blue were saying their good-byes.

“Yeah, just feeling kinda jittery,” she told him quietly. Lucas looked back at her and gave her a bright smile. Beagan returned it with a small wave.

“alright guys,” Sans said, walking over to the group, “let’s go home.” Beagan turned to Kenley, wanting to say so many things, but unsure of herself in that moment.

“Lucas, Beagan,” Kenley said, a gentle smile on their face, “you two are so special. I hope you both continue to grow. I know we’ll all miss you here at the center.”

“Thanks doc,” Beagan said quietly. She was going to miss them, but she was ready now. Her anxiety was quelled slightly when she looked at Lucas, who looked so happy. She looked at her skeletons, ready to go. Her skeletons, what a funny thought.

 

✧~*~✧~*~✧ 

Beagan was sat in Stretch’s lap as Papyrus drove the car down a few back-roads on the way to the skeletons house. Blue had wanted to hold Beagan during the car ride, but when she had nearly fallen to the floor when he kept bouncing his leg from excitement, she had been swept up by Stretch.

“Miss Beagan, You’re Going To Love The House!” Papyrus was saying from the drivers seat. He had this ease with which he drove that screamed professional. Beagan briefly wondered if he was a chauffeur or a racer.

Beagan was practically vibrating in excitement. She couldn’t wait to see the place the skeletons called home and decided to climb up Stretch’s hoodie to get a better seat on his shoulder. He just watched her with a bemused look on his face when she got to his sternum area. Once she was perched on his shoulder, she looked out the window and saw many trees in full foliage. There wasn’t much more to be seen, although she was certain she had seen a deer or two flash by. 

“So, how much farther?” She felt like a child asking, but she couldn’t help herself.

“just a couple minutes, honey-bea,” Stretch said, reaching a hand up to steady her when the road got a little bumpy. 

She couldn’t help the nervous giggling that escaped her. She was almost home. Home, home, home! It was such a wonderful word to her. She spun around on Stretch’s shoulder and hugged the side of his skull. He froze and turned his head slowly. His eye sockets were wide and he seemed to have almost stopped breathing. Blue was staring at them with a shocked look on his face. Beagan let go quickly and jumped from Stretch’s shoulder to his lap and then to the center console in the front seat. She just kept giggling and did a little twirl. 

“Beagan, You Need To Be Careful, You Might Fall,” Blue said, quickly plucking her from console.

“Sorry,” Beagan said with minor chagrin. She was just way too excited. She hugged Blue’s thumb and giggled, “I’m so excited! I’m going home!” 

A bright blue blush spread over Blue’s cheek bones as he laughed, “Mweh-Heh-Heh! We’re Very Happy You’re Going Home With Us!”

Soon the car slowed to a stop and Papyrus announced, “We’re Here!” Beagan gave a shout of excitement and scrambled up Blue’s arm to stand on his shoulder. He opened the door and hopped out of the car, giving Beagan a clear view of the house. It was a multiple story Victorian style house, painted a creamy white with dark brown trim and shutters. Beagan held onto Blue’s bandanna as he scampered up the front steps to the porch. Papyrus was right behind them carrying the box that held Beagan’s personal belongings with Sans and Stretch bringing up the rear.

Blue threw open the front door and shouted, “WE’VE RETURNED!” Beagan got a quick look around the small front entrance before she was whisked off to what must’ve been the living room. Lounging on the couch was another skeleton. He was wearing a dark, graphic t-shirt and had a collar around his neck. Beagan made a mental note that he looked a bit like Sans, except instead of square teeth in his perma-smile, his were sharp, a gold tooth glinting in his vicious looking grin. Beagan felt a shiver run down her back when she remembered the fangs she had seen in Sans’ mouth the one time she saw his teeth separated.

“so, this is the one that has all you cream-puffs up in arms,” the new skeleton said. He got up and moved to stand in front of Blue. “heya tiny, m’ names red,” he said, looking over Beagan with bright red eye-lights. 

She gripped Blue’s bandanna in her fist and said, “I think you’re just jealous, your edgy-ness. I’m gorgeous enough to stop civilizations,” she said, throwing her hair over her shoulder coquettishly before she stuck her hand out in his face and said, “I’m Beagan.”

A surprised look crossed Red’s face before he let out a barking laugh. “yer cute, tiny, but i dunno ‘bout gorgeous.” But he humored her and took her tiny hand between two of his phalanges. Beagan felt herself blush slightly.

Sans cut in, making Beagan jump, “alright, that’s enough. we gotta get her settled in and lay down some ground rules.” He pushed past them and headed down a narrow hallway.

“Oh yeah! We never discussed where I’d be sleeping,” Beagan squeaked, taking her hand back from Red. Blue moved on to follow Sans, with Stretch right behind him. 

“sorry kid, but we don’t have a spare room for ya and we didn’t wanna put ya in another broom closet. ’specially since you’re gonna have free range of most of the house. so, we’ve come up with something we hope will be a good compromise,” Sans said, before moving through an archway. The room he turned into was a simple dining area that led off what Beagan believed to be the kitchen. 

Papyrus set Beagan’s small box of belongings on the table and said, “We Can Put This Wherever You Want It, But This Is Probably Not The Best Room. We Have Set Up An Area Just For You Though.”

“Where’s that?” She asked, leaning forward on Blue’s shoulder.

“there’s a small hallway on the other side of the living room that we’ve set up a space for you in,” Stretch answered, his hand on Blue’s other shoulder. “but first, we need to introduce you to the others.” There was a grim look on his face, but he didn’t remove his hand from Blue’s shoulder as Red and three new skeletons filed into the room. 

They all looked rather _sharp_ if Beagan were to try to describe them. Two of them looked a bit like Papyrus and Stretch, insomuch as to say they were tall, lanky, and a fairly angular. The other skeleton looked like Blue, Red, and Sans; round faced, large eyes, and a wide mouth. Though this one wasn’t smiling; it was definitely more of a fierce scowl. 

“WELL? IS THIS THE NEW PET YOU DECIDED TO DRAG INTO THE HOUSE?” said Mr. Tall-and-Spiky-Number-One. Beagan bristled at the word pet, as did Blue and Stretch. He pulled on the lapels of his studded leather jacket.

“i told you before edge, she’s not a pet,” Sans said, an annoyed tone colouring his voice.

“IT REQUIRES SOMEONE ELSE TO CARE FOR IT, SO THAT MAKES IT A PET,” the spiky “Sans” huffed, turning his “nose” up at them.

“I’m not a pet,” Beagan growled at him, releasing Blues bandanna.

“Indeed, Black. She May Be Small, But She Has Certainly Shown She Has A Great Deal Of Tenacity,” Papyrus said to the small, prickly skeleton.

Sans interrupted then, “look, she’s not a pet, this is beagan. kiddo, you’ve met red. that’s his brother, edge,” he pointed to Tall-and-Spiky-Number-One, “these two are rus and black,” he continued, pointing at Tall-and-Spiky-Number-Two and the short, angry one. Rus gave a small, low wave, a shy smile curling the corners of his mouth.

“Pleasure,” she said, looking over each of them. Maybe it would’ve been better to stay at the center a little longer and have all of these other skeletons come to her. Too late now.

“alright, now for ground rules. one: beagan, you are not to go into the basement for any reason. this is strictly for your own safety. two: we ask that you stay out of our rooms. we’ve come up with the best compromise that we can for our privacy, as well as yours. if our doors are open, you can come in, if not, please knock.” 

Beagan gave a small nod, that sounded reasonable. Stay out of the basement and out of the bedrooms if not invited, no problem there.

Sans continued, “three: to the rest of you, if beagan wants to be left alone and she’s in her space, you stay away from her. four: we’re going to set up some stuff to make it easier for her to get around. no puzzles or traps are allowed on these unless she has given the okay and none that would block the exits if she needs to get outside during an emergency.”

Again, Beagan thought these rules sounded reasonable, safety and general privacy. There might be more to be added later, but this was a good start. She realized that Sans was watching her, waiting for her to say something. “Alright, that all sounds good,” she said with a smile.

She heard someone give a small scoff, but when she turned, no one was looking at her. She tapped on the side of Blue’s head and said, “Can I see what you guys set up for me now?”

“Certainly Miss Beagan! Come Along Brother!” Blue exclaimed happily. He took Stretch’s hand and stepped around Red and Black. Rus gave Beagan another shy smile and stepped out of the doorway, allowing Blue to pass unimpeded. She gave him a small wave before she was carried away. They wandered into the living room and through another doorway down a short hallway. Beagan got a brief glimpse of something before a bright blue glove obscured her vision.

“Um, Blue? How am I supposed to see my space with your hand in the way?” Beagan asked with a small chuckle.

“Mweh-Heh-Heh, It’s Supposed To Be A Surprise,” he laughed. Beagan shook her head and tried to push his hand down and away, but Blue held firm.

“Be Patient, You’ll See It In A Moment,” he lightly scolded. “Brother, Turn It That Way. No, That Way, Yes, Now It Looks Perfect.” Beagan’s excitement continued to grow as Blue instructed Stretch to do _something_ with whatever they were going to show her.

Soon enough, Blue’s hand was lowered and Beagan could see, in all its grace and glory, the most perfect place for her. Blue lifted her from his shoulder to set her on the small end table it had been placed upon.

Beagan wasn’t sure what word to use to describe it. It was like a mix between a doll house and a pillow fort in its design. A deep, wooden box was the main structure and it was draped with all kinds of sheer fabrics. She ran her hand along what she would describe as the front curtain, feeling the smooth fabric slip from her fingers.

She turned and saw Papyrus standing with Blue, both of them looking terribly excited for her reaction. She gave them a toothy grin before she slipped inside. Along one wall of the box was a string of fairy lights, stretching from the entrance to the back wall. In the entrance was a small table and chair with three hand-made tiny books stacked on top. Along one wall were a few postcards from a few countries Beagan had told the boys she had wanted to visit and on the other wall was a hanging pocket watch and a small, Bitty-sized shelf.

Her heart was pounding with overwhelming joy as she continued to the back, through the separating curtain. On the other side was a crocheted hammock that was suspended from the ceiling and a Bitty-sized chest of drawers on one side. In one corner, separated by a small wooden room divider was a small tub, a tiny vanity and small toilet. She turned the the hot water handle for the sink and was delighted to see that they did indeed work.

At the center the Bitties would take turns in the shower area and there were restrooms freely available, but this- this was nice.

She hurried back out and gave a small whoop of excitement, startling the skeletons who had all gathered outside in the hall way. “It looks fantastic! Who made the books and the hammock? I love the pocket watch as a clock! And how on Earth did you get me running water? It’s amazing!” She ran to the edge of the table and took a flying leap at the nearest skeleton, who just so happened to be Papyrus, and hugged around his glove where she landed.

He gave a happy laugh and said, “We’re Very Happy You Like It! We All Contributed In It’s Design, Even Edge And Black. Although, They Didn’t Seem Very Pleased When We Asked Them To Help.” She turned to Sans and held out a hand, her knees and other hand being used to keep her on Papyrus’ glove.

He took her from Papyrus and cradled her in his hand, staring at her with quivering eye-lights. “I know you were hesitant about bringing me home, but thank you,” she said, climbing up his arm so she was sitting on his shoulder. 

As she gave the side of his skull a hug, she heard him mumble, “welcome home, kiddo.”


	9. Pet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ain’t much happening this week in my life. I’m a very boring person.
> 
> Also, a quick note and edit, I’ve changed Swapfell Papyrus’ nickname from Slim to Rus. With the direction I’ve decided to take his character, I felt that it would fit better. You’ll see why soon.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

After Papyrus and Blue helped Beagan put away her meager belongings and very few outfits, it was time for lunch. Blue went to call the others while Papyrus took Beagan into the dining room. The table was laid out for the eight skeletons and a small tea plate was set in between two place settings. Edge was emerging from the kitchen with a baking dish balanced on one hand and a bowl in the other. Rus came out behind him carrying several bottles and silverware. 

Beagan hopped from Papyrus’ hand to the table edge and watched as Edge set down the baking dish. It was a beautiful, golden, bubbling lasagna and it smelled wonderful. The bowl turned out to be a simple, but delicious looking tossed salad. A most bountiful spread indeed.

“This looks amazing, Edge,” Beagan said, smiling up at him.

Edge just scoffed, “I KNOW, IT’S NOT THAT DIFFICULT TO MAKE.” He turned and headed back into the kitchen, leaving Beagan, Papyrus, and Rus in the dining room.

Rus glanced between Beagan and Papyrus as he went around the table laying out the silverware at each spot and placing the bottles every so often. Beagan realized they were condiment bottles after a moment but wrote it off when Blue walked into the dining room with Sans, Stretch, Red, and Black.

“Hey boys, what’s crack-a-lackin’?” She asked cheekily.

“not much, just rattlin’ a few bones,” Sans replied with a grin. There was a loud groan from Black, Blue, and Papyrus, while Red and Stretch chuckled loudly. Rus was hiding a smile while he took a seat at the table, across from where Beagan would be sitting. She skipped over to her spot and plopped down, crossing her legs. She hadn’t had a conversation with Rus yet, but from the small smiles and little waves and glances, she could only assume he was very shy.

“WE ARE NOT ALLOWING PETS TO SIT AT THE TABLE!” Black shouted suddenly, glaring pointedly at Beagan. “RUS, REMOVE THAT PLATE FROM THE TABLE AND PUT IT WHERE PETS BELONG!”

“yessir,” he mumbled, standing and lifting the small plate from in front of Beagan, his eyes downcast. He had a very soft voice

“Wait a second!” Beagan cried, twisting to Black.

“Black, Beagan Is Allowed To Sit At The Table. She’s Not A Pet; She’s Our Friend!”  
Blue tried reminding him.

“PETS DON’T BELONG AT THE TABLE!” Black screeched.

“BLACK, STOP THAT INFERNAL SHRIEKING!” Edge shouted, coming from the kitchen with a knife and spatula in one hand and a pair of salad tongs in his other. Black rounded on him and the two started arguing loudly.

Rus had replaced Beagan’s plate and was looking between each of them, a rather passive look on his face. While everyone was arguing over whether Beagan was allowed to sit at the table, he leaned forward and asked her quietly, “did you like the books?”

She looked up at him in surprise and asked, “Did you make them?” He gave a nod, a shy, pleased look on his face as Beagan’s lit up in excitement. “They’re lovely. You’re really crafty, have you done bookbinding before?”

“no,” he said, a small, rust-coloured blush forming on his cheek bones. “i looked up a few video tutorials and made ‘em from that.”

“Well, they’re lovely,” Beagan told him earnestly.

“You’re Just Being Stubborn For The Sake Of Being Stubborn, Black,” Blue said loudly, cutting off what ever Rus was going to say next.

“HOW DARE YOU, YOU PATHETIC PANSY!” Black yelled back. Beagan shook her head, the arguing was getting worse.

“Stop it!” Beagan yelled over the rising din. Silence fell for a brief moment and Beagan took the opportunity to say, “Sans, why don’t I just eat in the hall? It’d probably save us all a huge headache.”

Sans looked between her and Black, his expression pinched, before he just gave a small nod, holding his hand out to her. She stepped on lightly and settled herself into a seated position.

“Beagan, You Should Not Have To Leave,” Papyrus said, wringing his hands.

“Honestly, Paps, I just want food. We’ll talk about this whole mess after we’ve all eaten,” Beagan calmly stated. She nodded up at Sans who carried her away.

“it’s still wrong to make you eat separately,” Sans said as Beagan took a seat on the edge of the table her box was on.

“Yeah, I know, but it was the quickest and easiest way to solve this so we could all eat,” she said smoothly, brushing invisible crumbs off her lap. “Anyway, I’m sure you already know, but I’ll eat quite a bit. Can you keep my lasagna portion small though? Lasagna is delicious and amazing, but I don’t think my stomach would agree with it with how jittery I’ve been today.” 

Sans gave her a small smile, and joked, “this meal is gonna be tortellini awesome.” Beagan gave a snort, trying to keep her face straight, but Sans’ cheesy grin pushed her over the edge as he began chuckling.

“Boo! Bad joke! Bad joke! Someone come and get this guy,” Beagan called, laughing with Sans.

“Sans, We’re Serving Now,” Papyrus said, sticking his head around the corner.

“comin’ bro,” he replied, heading down the hall.

Beagan swung her legs back and forth over the edge as she waited. To her surprise, it was Red who returned with her food.

“hey, tiny. sans had ta deal with black,” he said as he put her plate and a tiny fork next to her on the table. He leaned against the opposite wall, a second plate of food in his hands. “i think black might actually try ta kill blue this time,” came the quiet mutter.

“Wait, what? Just because the guys brought me home?” Beagan asked, leaping to her feet.

“nah, he tries ta dust him at least twice a month and then gets put in a ‘time-out’ til he cools off,” Red offered as an explanation. It did little to assuage Beagan’s concern, even as Red acted as though nothing was wrong. Beagan picked at her food, straining her ears to listen, but didn’t hear anything from the other rooms. The lasagna was so delicious that Beagan lamented that she was so nervous she could barely stomach the few bites she had taken.

“Red, what’s your opinion on me being here?” Beagan asked him, pushing her bit of salad around on the plate.

“it don’ matter ta me much,” he shrugged, polishing off the last of his food on his plate. He had eaten the entire thing in a matter of moments, and all without dropping a bit on his shirt.

“Did you not want me to come?”

“eh, i was prolly the only neutral party here. i didn’ want you ta not come, but I didn’ care if you didn’.” Beagan pursed her lips.

“Did you help with my room?”

“yeah, i was the one who installed the bathroom stuff. was actually really easy.”

“Thank you.”

“no problem, tiny.”

Beagan choked down the rest of her food in silence, sad that she didn’t have a better appetite, and stood. “I’m done. Can you carry me back to the dining room?”

“ya sure, tiny?” Red asked, looking down at her.

“Yeah, I trust you won’t drop me,” she said, setting her fork on the plate and pushing it closer to Red.

“alrigh’. not what i meant though,” he said, stacking her plate on top of his and gently picking her up in his hand. The way he had lifted her had her sitting on his smallest phalange and his thumb crossed over her midsection. She stared down at the bone in quiet thought as she was carried back to the rest of the skeletons.

The atmosphere was tense in the dining room. Blue and Black were at opposite ends of the table and were glaring at each other over their plates. Red set Beagan down next to Sans and Papyrus and took a seat next to Edge on the opposite side of the table. She glanced at each of the skeletons, but all were remaining resolutely silent, not looking at each other and staring at their own plates.

After a few brief, agonizingly awkward moments, Beagan said, “Alright, I think we all need to have a talk.” All of the skeletons gave a start at the sound of her voice breaking the stillness.

“You’re Right Miss Beagan,” Papyrus said, pushing his now empty plate away. 

Beagan held up a finger to Papyrus, signaling for him to wait, as she turned to the end of the table where Black was sitting and marched her way down. Black seemed rather taken aback by her steadfast pace and her absolute obstinance to anything he was saying about pets needing to be kept off the table. When she stood in front of him, hands on her hips, glaring up at him, his mouth clicked shut, staring at her with wide eye sockets.

She stuck her hand out to him and with a bold smile, said, “Hi, I’m Beagan, and I’m your new roommate. Yes, I’m very small, so please try to avoid stepping on me.”

There was a stillness that rolled over everyone for about three seconds before a quiet snicker could be heard. Black and Beagan both turned to see Rus covering his mouth to try and stifle his laughter. Black turned to Beagan and carefully articulated, “I Am The Malignant Black, Pet, And You Are Not What I Expected.”

Beagan rolled her eyes and quipped, “Do I look like I wear a collar or have a tail? Please, I’m not a pet, and I’d like it if you wouldn’t call me one.”

“That’s- I’m Not- You’re-” Black stuttered before he grumbled incoherently. He gave her a piercing look and barked, “I SHALL CALL YOU WHATEVER I WANT, PET! NOW BE SILENT!” With that, he stood from the table and marched out of the room.

Beagan watched him go, but felt an odd sense of pride warming her chest and turned to the others and brightly announced, “I think that went rather well!”

She saw Stretch and Sans break into wide grins and Blue had those sweet little stars in his eyes again. Red gave her a thumbs up and even Edge looked impressed. Papyrus reached out to Beagan and lifted her to be eye (socket) level with him. “You Are A Very Bold Bitty Miss Beagan,” he said as he regarded her with a serious look.

“Don’t worry, I look forward to annoying you guys, day after day, until you’re absolutely sick of me,” she sing-songed.

She heard Rus give another quiet snicker and turned to beam at him, already holding a sweet spot for the quiet skeleton. He returned it with a grin of his own as he stood from the table and left the room, presumably to follow after his brother. Papyrus set Beagan back onto the table with a smile and a slow shake of his head.

Things were much less tense now, and Beagan helped to clear the table by collecting the silverware for Edge as he stacked the plates and collected the serving dishes.

“PERHAPS YOU’RE NOT AS PATHETIC AS I HAD FIRST THOUGHT,” he said as he carried the dishes into the kitchen. Beagan couldn’t help but give a wry smile at the backhanded compliment. 

She turned to the remaining skeletons and asked, “So, who’s gonna give me the grand tour?”

“Oh! I Would Love To Beagan!” Blue announced from his seat. He bounced out of his seat and moved around the table to better reach her.

“pap, why don’t you and blue give her the tour. we have some work we need to take care of,” Sans said, pushing his chair away from the table and standing up.

“What An Excellent Idea Brother! The Great Papyrus and The Magnificent Blue (Mweh-Heh!) Will Give Miss Beagan The Grandest Of Tours Of The Scenic House!” Papyrus announced, posing in a heroic stance.

“good. make sure she knows what’s off limits. and kid?” he said, turning to Beagan, “have fun.”

Beagan smiled sweetly and said, “I promise not to start any wild parties while you’re away.”

Stretch shook his head and patted her head. “just don’t get too wild up.”

Wild up? Wild- wild- Oh! Riled up. “That was a bit of a Stretch, dude,” she said with a wink.

There were collective groans and chuckles as Stretch winked back. Blue whisked Beagan away before any further punning could be executed and Beagan’s grand tour of her new home officially started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a tumblr! Not much there yet, but why don’t you come say hi? I’ve got artwork of Lucas up now!
> 
> https://sloaneconriao3.tumblr.com/


	10. House Tours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunday is upon us once again!
> 
> I left a note last chapter and I shall say it again, I changed Fellswap Papyrus from Slim to Rus, because I felt it would fit more with the way I was writing him.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading!

Blue and Papyrus were a whirlwind of energy as they took Beagan on the tour of the house. They started with the first floor, poking into the kitchen where Edge was washing dishes from lunch. It was large and modern and Beagan wished she were back to her regular size because she desperately wanted a chance to bake in that kitchen. The appliances all looked new and shiny, perfectly cleaned. The cabinets were a simple, pale wood with chrome fixtures. Blue placed her on a counter top and Beagan marveled at the dark grey and white marbled texture, a hand sliding along the side of the bowl of a large stand mixer.

“This is amazing,” she murmured, her voice small.

“Did You Cook Very Much, Miss Beagan?” Papyrus asked her.

“No, I was a terrible cook. My gramma used to try to teach me, but after I peeled my thumb with a potato peeler and set fire to her stove trying to boil water for soup, I was banished from her kitchen,” Beagan told him with a smile. “But my dad and I used to do a lot of baking. We weren’t that good at that either, but we really did try. Best thing I ever made were these cupcakes that were secretly healthy. Made ‘em with zucchini, got a big serving of veggies in each one. Best bit was when we made ‘em with chocolate, nobody had any idea.”

Edge shooed them out of the kitchen after that. Clearly the kitchen was his domain and he wasn’t about to have them sully it. The next place was the dining room, which Beagan was already familiar with it’s simple decorations and large table. The most interesting thing was a china cabinet in the corner displaying model cars, the collection belonging to Black apparently.

Then came the living room, with a large T.V. set upon an even larger entertainment system. It was filled with movies and games. Papyrus opened a cabinet that displayed a couple of gaming systems.

“You’re Welcome To Play Anytime You Want,” he stated proudly.

“Thanks, Papyrus, but I’m a little to small to use the controllers,” Beagan reminded him gently.

“Oh... Right. No Matter, We Shall Have Fun In Other Ways!” He stood with his hands on his hips and Beagan couldn’t help her giggle as Blue showed her around the rest of the room.

A large green sectional couch dominated most of the room, with two recliners set off to the side and a simple wooden coffee table right smack in the middle. On one side of the room was a nook that had a built-in window seat that showed a lovely view of the front drive. Leading off the living room on either side of the entertainment center were hallways; one that led to the stairs to the basement, and the other that led to Beagan’s box, a small study with a couple of desks with computers, a half-bathroom, and the stairs to the second floor.

On the second floor were four bedrooms and a small library, each bookcase filled to bursting with books. Blue informed Beagan that the comfortable chairs in this room were the ultimate place to sit and read on a rainy day. A full bathroom sat at the end of the hall next to the stairs leading up. Sans, Papyrus, Rus, and Black were the ones staying on this floor, their doors marked with dry erase boards. Black’s door was currently shut and Beagan thought she heard him pacing behind it. Rus was in his room with the door open, watching a video on his phone, a few scraps of fabric in his hands and pins in his mouth. He glanced up and gave a wave to Beagan and the other skeletons as they passed by. 

Papyrus gave Beagan a quick look into his room, displaying his action figure collection, many of which seemed to be from a few different cartoons that Beagan remembered from her childhood. A large skull-and-bone pirate flag was hung up on one wall and a cork board on another. The cork board had several pictures tacked to it. There were some of the skeletons, a blue woman with striking red hair and a very sharp smile, a small yellow lady who looked a bit like a dinosaur, a few humans, and even a few of Beagan from a couple of the visits at the shelter. After a quick tour of his room and Beagan flinging herself onto his plush bed (complete with a race car frame) she was whisked upstairs for the last bit of the tour.

The third floor had another four bedrooms, belonging to Stretch, Blue, Edge, and Red. Each door up here also had a dry erase board with the names of the other skeletons written on them. There was another bathroom up here and another room that Beagan wasn’t allowed into, Papyrus simply stating that it was private. It made her even more curious, but she had already agreed to leave the rooms alone when she was told to. Still, she couldn’t keep her gaze from lingering as they passed. 

The mysterious room was all but forgotten, however, when she was shown the large balcony that overlooked the back garden and the rest of the property. It was breathtaking. The view into the trees and beyond to the mountain range looming in the distance made Beagan feel even smaller than she was, but she loved that view more than anything else about the house. She sat on the railing of the balcony where she had been set down and just stared into the distance. It was the middle of summer and the trees were in full leaf. She could only imagine what they would look like in autumn. A truly beautiful sight.

“What Are You Thinking Of Miss Beagan?” Papyrus asked in a small voice when Beagan didn’t move from her spot for several minutes.

“It’s not Misselthwaite Manor, or the moors of Yorkshire, but this view is amazing, none-the-less,” she murmured quietly, missing the confused look on Papyrus’ face.

“Can You Imagine A House With A Hundred Rooms? You’re Very Small And That House Would Be Very Big,” Blue said quietly.

“It would probably take me and entire day to get from one end of the house to the gardens outside,” Beagan chuckled. She turned to look at Blue, saying, “Why don’t you show me your room now?”

With a smile and one of his cute little laughs, Blue scooped Beagan back up and took her back inside to his room. It was like walking into Papyrus’ room again, just ever so slightly different. Blue also had action figures, but his looked to be more like modern army soldiers than cartoons and his bed had rocket ship frame. There were also glow-in-the-dark stars all over his wall and his ceiling. Beagan kept trying to pick out if there were patterns, or if it was just random in there placement. She wasn’t able to decide so she tore her eyes away as Blue asked her a question.

“Sorry, Blue, what did you say?”

He gave her a patient smile and repeated, “Do You Want To Play A Board Game? Or We Could Put Together A Puzzle! Now That You’re Here, We Could Even Make Puzzles!”

“You got any jigsaw puzzles? We could put one together down in the living room.”

“Of Course We Do!” Papyrus exclaimed, scooping up Beagan. Off they went once again, thundering down the stairs, past Rus, who was coming out of his room, down the next flight of stairs, and to the coffee table in living room where she was deposited as they ran off to collect whatever puzzles they might have. Beagan sat down and gave a small sigh. Those two had an enormous amount of energy. It was exhausting, but thrilling at the same time. 

Rus poked his head into the living room. “they run off?” he asked.

“They went to find some jigsaw puzzles,” Beagan offered as an explanation.

“oh.” Rus leaned against the door frame for the hallway. “later, i have something to show you.” He suddenly gave her a sly smile, then held up three fingers, and began counting down. “three, two, one,” and he pointed to the archway to the dining room and out came Blue and Papyrus, with Edge on their heels, yelling at them and swinging a dampened towel.

“YOU TWO BUFFOONS WILL CLEAN THAT MESS! I JUST CLEANED IN THERE AND I WILL NOT CLEAN UP THOSE PUZZLES YOU DUMPED ALL OVER MY KITCHEN!” he screeched.

Papyrus jumped out of the way of the towel-whip and quickly admonished him, “It Was An Accident, Edge! Stop Chasing Us And We’ll Clean It Up!”

Edge gave an audible growl as he glared at the two as they skirted around him and back through the archway. He then turned his glare on Beagan and began stalking towards her. She glanced back to Rus, but found he had disappeared back upstairs.

“AM I TO ASSUME YOU’RE THE REASON THEY DESTROYED MY KITCHEN?” Edge growled at her.

“Maybe,” she replied nervously, putting her hands behind her back and tugging on a lock of her hair.

He gave a small, “HMPH” and sat down on the couch in front of her. She stared up at him, inspecting his face. He looked very much like Papyrus, if a little bit rougher. She took in every crack on his skull and noticed he had one near his collar bone like Lucas’ scar. It had been strategically covered by Edge’s scarf, but was now on display after the scarf had fallen out of place when he had chased Papyrus and Blue.

“You’re a very good cook,” Beagan said quickly. Edge gave a start of surprise, his face softening ever-so-slightly from his glare. “I’m actually quite terrible. The only thing I was ever able to make that didn’t use the microwave was boxed Mac-and-Cheese.”

“I HEARD YOU TELLING THE OTHER TWO THAT WHEN YOU WERE IN THE KITCHEN EARLIER. THEY CAN’T COOK EITHER. THEY HAVE THE PASSION FOR IT, I ASSURE YOU, BUT THAT BURNING PASSION TENDS TO TURN INTO LITERAL FLAMES.” Edge responded, tilting his head as he examined her.

Beagan snickered, before she sobered herself up to ask, “What’s your favorite meal?”

“LASAGNA.”

“Oh, okay. What else do you like?”

He sat back for a moment, lost in thought. “I LIKE HEARTY FOODS, I SUPPOSE. FOODS HIGHER IN CARBS AND PROTEIN.” An almost indulgent smile curled across his face. “WHEN MY BROTHER AND I WERE-” he stopped suddenly, cutting himself off. “IT’S NOT IMPORTANT. STAY HERE.” Beagan opened her mouth to speak, but before a word could be said, Edge stood and all but ran from the room.

Beagan sat stunned. What? Did Edge just-? What was that? Why’d he stop talking? Papyrus and Blue returned to the living room just then, several open boxes of puzzles in their hands.

“So, Miss Beagan, We Have Many Puzzles We Have To Put Together. We May Have Spilled Them Together Onto The Floor Of The Kitchen,” Papyrus said, holding up two of the boxes in his hands.

“Oh boy,” Beagan breathed. She stepped up to the edge of the table. “Why don’t we sort out all of the edge pieces? It’ll be easier to sort them if they’re put together and we can just do several puzzles at once. Make it a challenge. Why not?” This was going to be a long, puzzling experience.

✧~*~✧~*~✧

It was several hours later and they had only put together the edges of the eight puzzles that had spilled, and only about half of those were half completed. Beagan was exhausted, but Blue and Papyrus were still going strong. She was rescued from the puzzle clutches when Stretch called them to dinner and she was whisked off to the dining table again.

Beagan took a seat on the table, next to her plate, and curled her knees up to her chest, resting her head on them. She heard everyone talking around her, but she was just too tired to engage with anyone. It had been a very long day. She heard her plate get picked up and then a few moments later heard it return. Blue asked her a question, but she just gave a noncommittal shrug, wanting to block out the lights and noise for a few moments. She felt a thumb rub against her back and leaned back into the touch, lulled by the soft motion.

“ya need ta eat, tiny,” came Red’s coarse voice. Beagan looked up at Red and blinked slowly, she hadn’t realized that he was sat behind her. His brother was next to him and when she looked to him he only pointed over her. She turned to look over and saw her plate filled with a strawberry cut in to small slices, a bit of potato, and a cubed up chicken breast. She scooted forward on her rump and picked up a slice of strawberry, nibbling on it while she listened to everyone talk around her.

They all seemed to be talking about insignificant things, or maybe that was the way Beagan’s tired brain was translating the conversation. All she knew was that as she ate slowly, she could feel her eyelids drooping. Faint words from the conversation floated around her.

“...Wanted To Watch A Movie...”

“..been a long day, she’s probably...”

“...HOW PATHETIC, NO SENSE...”

“time for bed, honey-bea.” Beagan jumped and looked up at Stretch who had her cradled against his chest and was carrying her to her box. She snuggled up in his hand and gave a small yawn. Lyrics from a lullaby her grandmother sang to her came to mind and she began to softly hum the tune as she was held in Stretch’s hand.

“that’s a pretty song,” Stretch commented, a soft smile on his face as he gently set Beagan on her feet next to her box.

“My gramma used to sing it to me. She had a wonderful voice. My dad said she used to sing professionally, but she never would talk about it,” Beagan told him, slipping into her box. She went to her little chest of drawers and pulled out her pajamas. Changing quickly, she ducked back out to see Stretch still standing there patiently. “Alright, I’m gonna get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning, ‘kay?”

“alright. night bea,” He said, giving her a gentle pat on the head before turning and walking out to the living room. Beagan turned and went back in, climbing into her hammock and turning over, pulling a small blanket over herself and falling into an easy, dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a tumblr! Come visit me there!
> 
> https://sloaneconriao3.tumblr.com/


	11. Little Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look at that! It’s Sunday! New chapter, yaaaay!  
> I almost didn’t have this finished on time, but here it is.  
> Thanks for reading everyone!

Her room was quiet and still when Beagan woke up. She debated rolling over and going back to sleep, but when she tried, she rolled off her hammock and down to her floor. She gave a small groan of pain and just laid there for a moment, considering going to sleep right there. Her discomfort and need for a toilet eventually convinced her to move. Wait a second.

She wasn’t in her room at the center.

This was her box in the Skeletons home!

She leapt up and stumbled her way out to the front of her box and looked for the switch for her fairy lights, stubbing her toe on her chair in the process. The light outside her box was a watery grey, filtering in through the curtained window her box was set in front of. She found the little switch and flipped it, making her box glow with warm light. Now that she could see, she checked the time on her pocket-watch-clock, and was shocked to see it was only about six o’ clock in the morning. Talk about an early start to the day, at least for her.

She made her way to the back again and got started on her daily routine, taking a little extra time to relax in the luxurious bath tub and giving her hair a good scrub, before getting dressed. Once dressed and ready for the day, she sat there and contemplated what she would do today. Likely whatever the skeletons decided... GAH! She wasn’t going to wait around for someone to tell her what to do. 

She could do what she liked now! She didn’t have to wait for a caretaker! She gave an excited laugh and a little spin in delight.

She looked over the edge of the table and carefully judged the distance. Not nearly as far as from the vents to the ground at the center, she could easily make this jump. She leapt to the ground, and landed lightly; Bitty powers for the win! Or just physics. Whatever. 

Beagan walked out into the living room and began her own exploration of the house. There wasn’t exactly a lot to explore in this room, although she did find a very small crack in the baseboard next to the hallway. There was a sock half-hidden under one of the recliners and a puzzle piece that had fallen from one of the boxes. She climbed up onto the the couch and tossed the piece to the coffee table. She debated with herself whether or not she would continue with the puzzles that were scattered about, but ultimately decided to continue her exploration of the house.

At lest until she heard a bang and a muttered curse come from the hallway. She ran for the door way and stuck her head around the corner. There in the dim light was Stretch, setting the box back to rights, whispering, “sorry, bea, you okay?”

“I’m okay,” Beagan said brightly. Stretch jumped and whirled around, his gaze finding on Beagan on the floor. She gave him a grin and flounced up to him. From her spot on the floor he seemed so huge. Just an absolute tower of bones. Then again, she was only four and a half inches tall. “Hey, you wanna gimme a boost?” She asked when she reached his foot. 

He reached down and gently picked her up. “what’re you doin’ up so early?” Stretch asked softly, walking with her through the living room.

“Just kinda woke up. What about you?” She asked.

“just kinda woke up,” he responded with a smirk.

“Ha-ha,” she laughed sarcastically. Through the dining room and into the kitchen. “Are we on our own for breakfast?”

“nah, edge’ll be home in a few and probably start on breakfast then,” he told her as he opened a cabinet. She watched as he pulled out a squeeze bottle of honey.

“Honey?”

“it’s a wonderful late night or early morning snack,” was all he offered as an explanation.

“My grandpa used to feed me fresh honey comb when I was a little kid,” Beagan mused as she watched him put the tip to his teeth. He stopped and stared at her.

“really?”

“Yeah, it was sweet and sticky, kinda waxy. My gramma sold the colonies and hives after he died though.”

“you’ve done a lot in your life, haven’t you?” He asked, putting the bottle back up to his teeth.

“Not really, I just kinda got lucky. There were a lot of opportunities to make memories when I was little,” she explained.

Stretch started giggling and said, “pfft... was.” Beagan began laughing when she realized what she had said.

“You know what I mean, bonehead.”

“yeah, yeah.” He continued to chuckle as he sat at the table, setting Beagan next to him. “you got any other stories you wanna share?”

“Hmmm.... I helped my gramma save a nest of baby birds once.” Beagan told him the story of the nest of finches she had found after a storm. How she had been about seven, and was skipping rope that chilly spring morning. What had been an odd shape near the edge of the drive was a birds nest. How there were three tiny birds in the nest on the ground, huddled together and shivering. When she ran for her grandmother, who was baking in her cozy little kitchen, she tracked mud through the living room. The days and weeks following where they fed them tiny worms her grandmother had dug up from her flower beds. Their excited peeps that turned to chirps as they grew. The excitement when the birds started trying to fly and the sheer joy when they were successful.

“I wish I could fly sometimes. But I’m terrified of heights. I’d make a terrible bird I think,” Beagan said with a smile, leaning against Stretch’s arm.

“honey-bea, i think you need more sleep,” he chuckled.

“Maybe,” she mused. She was still a little sleepy, but she doubted she would be able to go back to sleep. She ran her hand through her still damp hair and stretched languidly. “You said ‘When Edge gets back,’ earlier. What’s Edge doing up so early?”

“he, blue, black, and papyrus all have a morning routine where they go for a run. then, when they get back, showers, edge starts breakfast, and the other three do their own thing,” Stretch explained. He had started rubbing his thumb across her back, sipping on more of his honey.

“Is Edge married to the kitchen?” Stretch laughed at her question, and shook his head.

“nah, he and black trade off every week. every once in a while someone else will cook for a day, but it’s been mostly those two doin’ the cookin’.” Beagan nodded in understanding. A comfortable silence fell over them as they sat there.

Soon the silence was broken by four excitable skeletons coming home. As they thundered up the stairs, Stretch stood and carried her back to her box. “i think we should fix this. i probably knocked over a few things when i kicked it this morning.”

“Yeah, should probably take care of that,” Beagan agreed, and dipped into her room. 

The damage wasn’t awful, but it was definitely going to be a chore. Most of the free standing furniture had fallen, as well as the pocket-watch-clock and a few of the postcards having been knocked from the wall. Her sleeping quarters were all right, the only thing needing righted was her wooden room divider that separated her bed from her bath. She had to have Stretch check if there was anything wrong with the pipes for the plumbing and rehang the lights, but for the most part it was a quick and easy cleanup. 

As they worked, most of the house had started to come to life. Edge had made his way back downstairs and into the kitchen. Papyrus and Blue had returned to the puzzles in the living room and Black had come down with Rus, asking Beagan to accompany them outside. She stepped into Rus’ outstretched hand and said a quick, “See you later,” to Stretch. Black made Beagan nervous, but she was insistent on making friends with all of the skeletons.

The sun had officially risen and had chased away the clouds, bathing the house in it’s warm rays. A gentle breeze whispered through the leaves of the trees around the house. She could hear a bird chirping off in the distance as she turned her face to the sky and breathed in the fresh morning air.

“So, what’s up?” She asked, perched on the edge of Rus’ hand.

“I HAVE THOUGHT A LOT ABOUT YOU AND YOUR PLACE HERE IN OUR HOME,” Black said, leading Rus around to the side of the house. “I UNDERSTAND THE... OTHERS ARE QUITE FOND OF YOU, BUT I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU BRING TO THIS HOUSE THAT IS USEFUL.”

“Wh-what?” Beagan sputtered, turning to face him.

“WHY DID THEY BRING YOU HERE IF YOU AREN’T A PET? HOW ARE YOU USEFUL? WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE HERE?” He demanded, whirling around. They stopped rather suddenly and Beagan swayed in Rus’ hand, almost tumbling to the ground.

“I- I’m- Th-they,” she stuttered. How was she supposed to answer that?

“WELL?!”

She obviously hadn’t actually convinced Sans to adopt her. If it hadn’t been for Papyrus and Blue and Stretch, she’d probably still be at the center. She didn’t even know why he had actually agreed.

Was it pity?

 

Probably...

 

She was just a tiny Bitty. She couldn’t offer them anything.

 

She really was just a pet.

 

“PET, WHY ARE YOU MAKING THOSE NOISES?” Black asked suddenly.

Noises?

Oh. 

She was crying.

Why was she crying?

“I’m- I’m- It’s nothing,” she sobbed out. Black and Rus looked at each other, concern flashing across their skulls, as Beagan covered her face with her hands and tried to get herself under control. 

She was better than that, she shouldn’t be crying over this. No one had actually said anything to her about her being a pet except Black and maybe Edge. Sans never said he didn’t want her, and the others had been very happy to bring her home. Blue had said they were friends. 

She had value to someone, she was worth something to someone.

Even with her repeating the mantra that she was worth something as a person, it took a while to get herself under control. Rus started to pet Beagan’s head, smoothing her hair down her back. Black just looked uncomfortable and wouldn’t look at her. When Beagan was finally calm, she took a slow deep breath and then another.

“I don’t know,” she said to Black. He gave a start and stared at her. She looked him in the socket and said again, “I don’t know. I’m not big like you guys, I don’t have magic, I can’t cook or help with normal chores around the house. I suppose that would make me a pet to most people.”

Black didn’t look pleased at that statement. He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at her. “THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE?”

“Because someone wants me here. Because I want to be here. I’ve made friends and they were kind enough to bring me home and give me a place to live and a chance at a new life. Because to them, I’m worth something,” Beagan responded calmly. She had spent a lot of time taking care of herself after her father had passed. She knew better than to let her dark thoughts own her. Logic and clear thinking, as hard as it was to do sometimes, she knew that was the path to take.

“i want her here,” Rus said quietly, capturing their attention. Black made a disgruntled sound, and just stared at his brother. Beagan stared up at the two of them and then lowered her head.

The three of them stood outside in silence for a while until Blue started calling for them. Black led them back around the house and back inside. Rus sat her at her place on the table and moved to sit across from her next to his brother.

Blue and Papyrus started talking with Beagan about what they were going to that day. Beagan gave them both a brilliant smile and ate her breakfast quietly. She glanced at Black and Rus a couple times, but Black refused to look at her, looking a little lost in thought.

They both had a bit to think about apparently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come visit me on tumblr! It’s just got a few random musings and a ramble, but I am open to discussions!
> 
> https://sloaneconriao3.tumblr.com/


	12. Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens! Or at least I’ve actually started to make the roux now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I’m a day late guys. I had this chapter written, but when I went through to do my final checks on Saturday, I realized I hated it and had to scrap most of it.
> 
> I like this version so much better though. I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Chapter 12

The first few days in the skeleton household were filled with excitement as Beagan got used to living with the skeletons. Most mornings she wouldn’t hear when the four more energetic skeletons were up and going on their morning jogs, and she wasn’t usually woken up by anyone either. She was often left on her own in the morning, and would often explore the house. She had found every vent in most of the rooms and had sourced out twine, ribbons, and thread and had started making climbing ropes so that she would be able to traverse from one floor to the next with greater ease.

Blue and Papyrus would often leave their doors open for Beagan to come and go as she pleased, and she had decided to use their rooms as her “landing points” for the two higher floors. She would occasionally wander into Stretch’s or Sans’ rooms to just chat or read, although Sans would often turn her away. She figured there were still some lingering doubts from before her adoption. She rarely ever went into Red’s room and was _never_ invited into Edge’s or Black’s. Rus would invite her in every once in a while for a myriad of things. Usually because he was crafting something new for her and wanted to take a few measurements.

He and Stretch had started constructing small ladders so that Beagan could access tables and chairs more easily and she was incredibly grateful. Today, however, she was left to her own devices as the skeletons were all off doing their own things around the house or off to work. She had pulled her bag of tools back out in case she needed to make her on way through a problem while the skeletons were gone. 

She made her way into the study and was exploring under the desks and chairs and around the random book piles that littered the room. She especially liked the big, fancy-looking desk that dominated the room. So far she had found a few random coins and an empty chip bag, nothing too exciting on the whole, until she found the _hole_.

It was a small mouse hole, likely from before the skeletons had moved in. Just behind the big desk she liked. She flounced along the wall and crouched down in front of the hole, adjusting her bag on her side. The hole was about two-and-a-half inches tall, and just a little wider than Beagan was. She poked her head into the darkness and tried to pick out a few details of the hole. The most she could tell was that the hole dropped in a little and went along the wall for a few feet. It made little sense for there to be a mouse hole in this room unless this was where the nest was made. She carefully climbed in and felt her way along, but with the already limited light and her own body casting a shadow, it was impossible to see anything. Beagan turned around and crept along and back out. This would certainly make a wonderful hiding space, it was secluded and quiet.

Her stomach gave a rather loud gurgle as she pulled herself out of the mouse hole. She didn’t know what time it was, but figured it was past time for lunch. She traipsed along to the kitchen and poked her head in. No one was there, but Stretch or Rus had set up a ladder off in the corner so she could climb onto the counter. After making a quick ascent, she started looking for something to snack on. The problem was that Edge kept the kitchen immaculate. There wasn’t even a bowl of fruit set out. After thinking it over for a moment, she pulled a bit of twine tied to a sturdy paper clip and attempted to hook it on a cabinet door. She failed a couple times and eventually gave up. So, back down the ladder, though the kitchen, dining room, living room. Back to the hallway and into the vent. Maybe Stretch was still around the house somewhere. Up-up-up! Squeeze under Blue’s door (Hopefully he won’t mind, he’s off at his job right now) and peek into the hall. 

Stretch’s door was closed, so Beagan went up and gave it a few good raps. There was no noise from in his room, so she gave it another hearty tapping. Still nothing. She didn’t know where Edge was and Red was working today too. Maybe Black or Rus were somewhere in the house? She hustled down the hall and hopped down the stairs, rounding the landing and continuing on. Both of their doors were closed, and there was no sound coming from behind them. She gave a loud knock on both doors without an answer. Papyrus was gone to work today too and Sans was working on something in the basement. She kept going down the stairs and went back through to the living room.

Beagan was absolutely starving now. She stood in the middle of the living room and yelled at the top of her lungs, “DOES ANYONE WANNA FEED THE BITTY!? SUSTENANCE IS REQUIRED IF THIS EXISTING THING IS GOING TO CONTINUE!”

But no one came. 

She gave a huff and went to the front door, trying to look out the glass to see if there was anyone out and about in the front yard.

Nothing.

Where was everyone? She climbed up onto the couch and did her best to ignore her growling stomach. The best place to wait was right there, everyone passed though here on their way up or down stairs.

What was she supposed to do now?

She sat and waited for a bit, hoping that maybe someone would pass through. Half an hour went by, then another.

A thought crossed her mind: Had they completely forgotten her?

The next thought was a quick answer: Don’t be stupid. They may not realize what time it is. In another hour Blue and Papyrus will be home from work and she could ask them for a snack then.

She stood on the cushion of the couch and leapt down. The thought that they had forgotten her kept nagging in the back of her mind as she wandered through the doorway over to her box.

“They didn’t forget, they’re all just busy,” she muttered to herself. She climbed the ladder up to her box and slipped past the curtain. Maybe she’d sketch up a new costume for a larp character. She hadn’t done that since before she had shrunk. She used to love trying new concepts. She pulled out one of the books Rus had made her and began drawing.

As the time passed and she relaxed in her box, she heard a rumble of thunder. She looked up to the front of her box, noting to herself that she needed to ask them to cut a hole in the back so she could see out the window. The light was a murky grey and not at all pleasant. She turned to look to her pocket-watch-clock and realized that it had been a couple of hours now, and she hadn’t heard a single skeleton at all. Maybe she had been too engrossed? But so far, Papyrus and Blue had always come to check on her when they got back to the house after running errands in town or something.

No one was coming.

“Stop it!” Beagan scolded herself. She was not going to start with those thoughts. Where were they even coming from? She wasn’t like this.

She wasn’t...

She put her head down on the little table and took a few deep breaths and tried to get herself to relax. Her stomach was starting to cramp from not eating and she was getting really anxious. Papyrus had told her he and Blue would be back at three and Red would be home around four-thirty. She took a deep breath. No one was home yet, should she go find Sans? Edge would be starting dinner soon, she could wait until then. 

Her stomach gave another loud gurgle and she massaged it when she felt another cramp start.

She knew Sans was in the basement, maybe if she just knocked on the door?

She steeled herself and stood. This wasn’t breaking any rules, she would be fine. She climbed down the ladder and started for the door to the basement. The door felt impossibly tall and imposing as she stood in front of it, and she felt herself tremble a little.

She put her tiny fist up and banged on the door as hard as she could. “Sans? Are you down there?”

No answer.

“Sans? Pap and Blue aren’t home yet. They should’ve been home a while ago, have you heard from them?” Beagan yelled as loud as she could.

Silence.

Was he ignoring her?

There was a slight gap under the door, so she crouched down and put her eye to the space. She wouldn’t fit, but maybe she could see something. She peered down into the darkness. She couldn’t see anything. It was just dark. Dark and darker. 

Suddenly she saw something. 

A flash of white.

She saw a skull, one that looked reptilian, turn and look at her out of the darkness. Impressive in size, making her feel so small.

“Well hello,” it growled. It’s voice was indescribable. It was like so many voices layered over and twisted, tormented, broken. But sweet and musical. Terrifying, alluring, hideous, beautiful. 

She gasped, but couldn’t tear herself away. It was like she was pinned to the floor.

“A tiny morsel,” it’s impossible voice purred. Beagan struggled. This thing was really starting to scare her.

Then there was a new voice, far away and quiet, but so familiar. “Miss Beagan?”

Papyrus!

She struggled to turn over, but her body refused to respond. She was paralyzed. Her gaze was locked on this creature.

 

“Beagan? Where Are You?”

 

Blue?

 

I’m right here Blue!

“What a sweet little thing,” it mused, moving towards her.

 

“beagan? where are ya?”

 

Rus? Did they not see her?

“Hrmm,” it’s wonderful, agonizing voice rumbled, “I think you’ll do well.”

 

 

“honey-bea? come on, quit hiding.”

 

Stretch, please...

 

I’m not hiding! I’m right here!

The creature began climbing the stairs, making them creak and buckle.

 

“PET! GET OUT HERE NOW!”

 

Beagan almost wept at Black’s voice.

 

Help me... please...

The creature was almost to the top of the stairs.

Tears were leaking from her eyes.

She just wanted to get out.

“I’m here,” she whispered. Please come find me.

The creature stumbled as the next stair gave under it’s weight.

“I’m here,” her voice cracked, but it was gaining strength. They were looking for her.

The Beast stumbled back. It roared at her.

“I’m right here!” Beagan declared firmly. They would never leave her. The Beast screamed as it fell. What ever spell was held over her was broken. She shot to her feet and hit her head.

“bea?” San’s smooth baritone never sounded so wonderful.

Beagan looked around, blinking the tears away. She was back in the mouse hole.

It wasn’t real!

She scrambled out of the hole and away from the big heavy desk, and into the artificial light from one of the lamps on a desk.

Sans was in the doorway and visibly relaxed at the sight of her.

“Sans!” Beagan sobbed, running at him.

He stooped and caught her in one of his hands. Beagan threw herself from his hand and latched onto his jacket.

“whoa, you okay kid?” he asked.

She sobbed out, “N-night m-mare.” Tears were falling freely. She was so happy to see him. To see any sort of light.

“shhhh.. it’s okay, i gotcha. guys, i found her,” Sans called over his shoulder, supporting Beagan with one of his hands.

“Oh, Thank The Stars,” Papyrus cried, rushing down the stairs.

“honey-bea, where’ve you been?” Stretch asked. Beagan could barely control her cries.

“let’s get some food in her,” Sans said, leading them all to the dining room. Black had cut up a peach and had set it out on a plate, looking rather disgruntled at Beagan’s tear stained face and running nose. Rus was there with him, looking scared but relieved.

They all were talking around her as she sniffled and hiccuped, nibbling on her peach.

“she came out from under the secretary, yanno, the one that was left behind?” Sans was telling the others, who had all gathered in the room.

Black had covered his eyes with his hand and gave an exasperated sigh. “YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT SHE WAS CURLED UP AND TAKING A NAP?”

“essentially.”

Black grumbled and pushed himself away from the table and left the room.

Beagan sniffled and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“No, Beagan, Don’t Apologize,” Blue said with a soft smile.

“maybe you should avoid exploring places that we can’t easily get to, though,” Stretch said, running a phalange down her back. She gave a nod and took another bite of her peach. 

Her stomach hurt a little from her nerves and missing lunch; she couldn’t finish it. She crawled up Stretch’s arm and curled up in the crook of his elbow. He was always gentle and moved with leisure. She just wanted to be held for a while. 

He brought her close to his body and said to everyone, “hey, how about we all go into the living room and read the new book I got for her? we can all relax for a bit before dinner.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and moved to the living room. Blue ran upstairs to fetch the book as the others got comfortable on the couch and in the recliners. Blue came thundering back down the stairs and handed the book to Stretch, who winked at Beagan and showed her the cover.

It was a new copy of The Secret Garden.

He cracked the book open and began to read in his quiet and tranquil voice, “when mary lennox was sent to misselthwaite manor to live with her uncle..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a tumblr! Stay a while and chat!
> 
> https://sloaneconriao3.tumblr.com/


	13. Groceries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry about missing last weeks update. Between work and Father’s Day, I just didn’t have the time to finish it. I really need to get back on the ball about this.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!

After Beagan had fallen asleep in the mouse hole, she was hardly left without some supervision. She didn’t mind hanging out with the skeletons, but she was getting antsy to go and explore some more. Today was going to be interesting though. Today Papyrus and Edge were going grocery shopping and Beagan was going with them. Not that she had asked if she could tag along. No, she was volun-told she was going, and that meant the bitty harness and leash.

She whined and pleaded to be allowed out of wearing the harness, but it was Edge who was helping her get ready, and he would hear none of it. He tugged the green and purple harness over her head and tightened the straps around her chest and midsection.

“I could just stay home,” Beagan offered, trying to wiggle out of Edge’s grasp as he attached the matching leash.

“NOT HAPPENING, MISSY,” Edge groused, slipping the loop of the leash over his wrist and dropping Beagan onto his shoulder.

“But whyyyyy?” Beagan wailed childishly.

“BECAUSE YOU DECIDED TO WORRY EVERYONE AND NOW YOU’RE STUCK WITH ME, THAT’S WHYYY,” Edge mocked with a sly smile.

Beagan flopped over on his shoulder with a groan. His shoulder was padded well enough with his leather jacket and T-shirt that it didn’t hurt.

Beagan didn’t want to go shopping. Mostly because Edge seemed intent on tormenting her. If it were just Papyrus, this whole situation would be different.

“Is Miss Beagan Ready To Go?” Papyrus asked, double checking his pockets before they went out the door.

“YES,” Edge said. “AND SHE HAS NOT STOPPED WHINING LIKE A CHILD ABOUT THE LEASH. HONESTLY, BITTY, IT’S THE LAW. IF WE WERE TO FAIL TO COMPLY, YOU WOULD BE RETURNED TO THE SHELTER. DON’T BE SO FOOLISH. UNLESS, OF COURSE, YOU WISH TO GO BACK.”

Beagan grumbled into his jacket, not giving an intelligible answer, because she knew he was right. It didn’t mean she had to like it though.

“Cheer Up Miss Beagan, We’ll Be Done With The Shopping And Back Home Before You Know It,” Papyrus was saying as he and Edge walked from the house down to Papyrus’ bright red convertible.

Beagan gripped the collar Edges shirt in her tiny fists to help her keep balanced when Edge leaned over to get in the car. She was surprised with how soft it was in her hands. “Dude, what is your shirt made of? Like, is it made from the pelts of seventy-five tribbles?”

“WHAT THE HELL IS A TRIBBLE?” Edge demanded.

“It’s a creature from Star Trek, fuzzy little balls of fur with no discernible face and they breed like rabbits.” Beagan supplied as she continued to pet Edge’s shirt. It was so soft, she couldn’t help herself.

“What Is Star Trek?” Papyrus inquired as he started the car and turned to drive down the long driveway.

“Oh! It’s a sci-fi T.V. show. Takes place in the future and there have been a lot of different casts because there’ve been a few different people who...” Beagan explained as much as she could remember from the show. She had watched it with her grandmother on the weekends when she was a kid and had made the decision to watch it with the skeletons if she could. Especially since the two skeletons kept asking so many different questions, making Beagan go ‘round and ‘round trying to explain.

“Wowie! That’s A Lot Of History For One T.V. Show!” Papyrus exclaimed as he pulled into a parking space in front of the small grocery store.

“Yeah, well, it has been airing for decades at this point. Wait until you hear about Star Wars. There’s a fan war over which franchise is the best,” Beagan told him, gripping Edge’s shirt again as he climbed out of the car. “Another show we should probably watch is Dr. Who. Lucas had been trying to explain it to me while we were at the center.”

“INDEED,” was all Edge said as he led the way into the store, he and Papyrus both taking carts from the line and heading to the produce section. 

Beagan watched as the carts were quickly filled with all kinds of food. Every once in a while, Papyrus would ask Beagan’s opinion on something, like her favorite fruit and vegetable, whether she preferred one brand of pasta over another, and if she thought they should get pretzels or crackers.  
When they rounded one corner and were headed towards the bakery, Beagan saw the display case for the cold desserts. She had a massive sweet tooth and the small part of her that still held the child-like joy of looking at the decorated cakes called to her.

“Hey, Edge? Can we look at the desserts? Please?”

“WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU WANT TO WASTE TIME LOOKING AT THOSE?” He grumbled. Beagan knew that they had been shopping for nearly two hours, but she really wanted to stop and look for just a moment.

“Please? Some of them are really pretty. I could never make something like that and it’s always nice to admire someone else’s work.” She put her hands together in a pleading motion.

“NO, WE HAVE TO FINISH AND GET BACK HOME.” He then proceeded to ignore her, focusing on whatever breads he was planning on getting.

Beagan slouched in defeat. Maybe Papyrus would want to look with her. She stood on Edge’s shoulder and looked around, trying to spy the cheerful skeleton with no success.

Edge made his selection from the loaves of fresh bread and turned back to the cart, causing Beagan to slide down the length of his arm and fall. A short shriek escaped her as she tumbled down until the leash stopped her from hitting the floor. The force behind the sudden stop, however, caused her to wheeze out a pained groan.

“SHIT,” Edge cursed, coiling the leash around his hand and pulling Beagan back up into his hands.

Beagan let out another wheezing groan and mumbled, “Hey, next time I’m gonna stay home.” She gave a breathy chuckle and laid her head back. That hurt, a lot. It had been a while since she’d had the wind knocked out of her like that. Edge had a look of absolute consternation across his face and carefully cradled Beagan in his hand.

“BITTY, YOU ARE FAR MORE TROUBLE THAN YOU’RE WORTH.”

“Nah, I’m totally worth it. I’m small and fun. Totally worth it. Red even called me cute.” She gave him a grin as her breathing returned to normal. She decided that grocery shopping sucked if you were normal sized or Bitty sized.

Papyrus wandered over to them and said, “Are We About Ready To Go? I Got The Dairy And Have Been To The Butcher Counter.”

Edge’s grip on Beagan tightened slightly before her set her back on his shoulder and turned to Papyrus. “YES, WE’RE DONE, LET’S GO.”

Papyrus led the way to the checkout and began loading the groceries onto the conveyor belt. The cashier gave Papyrus and Edge a startled look when he went to greet them, but recovered quickly. “H-hello, did you find everything okay?”

“Yes We Did, Thank You, Human!” Papyrus answered cheerfully as he continued to move the food to the belt.

Beagan watched with a slight interest as Papyrus and Edge moved with a sense of fluidity passing things to the cashier and then bagging the food and moving it back to the carts. The cashier kept glancing up at Beagan on Edge’s shoulder, and then quickly looking away when Beagan caught him. Soon, Papyrus paid the cashier and they were moving out the doors.

“Did you guys ever consider taking up sword dancing?” Beagan asked them as they loaded the groceries into the trunk and the backseat of the car.

“No?” The look on Papyrus’ face told Beagan he had a lot of questions, but seemed unsure of where to begin.

“It’s actually really cool and the way you two moved back there, you could be partners.”

“WHY ON EARTH WOULD WE WANT TO DANCE WITH SWORDS?” Edge asked, slamming the trunk closed.

“’Cause it’s really cool?”

“YES, SO YOU SAID.” She could hear the eye roll in his voice.

“What Is Sword Dancing Anyway?”

“We should look up some videos when we get home! I’m not trained or anything, so anything I show you would probably be a really poor imitation. I saw it at a Renaissance Faire once.” Beagan’s smile brightened as she told them about the Faire she had been to with her father years ago and the attractions that had been shown.

Edge was quieter on the way back to the house than he had been on the way to the store and Beagan noticed. She had tried to include him by asking more about him and his brother, but he only gave her one or two word answers and shot her down quickly when she tried to get him to elaborate.

So, after the conversation reached a particularly long lull, Papyrus turned on the radio and encouraged Beagan to sing along with the songs she knew and introduced her to the talents of Mettaton and his cousin Napstablook. Beagan was most certainly appreciative of their talents, especially one particularly mournful song with a haunting melody. A few tears pricked her eyes as it brought her sorrows of losing her father to the surface again, and she asked Papyrus if he owned a copy of any more of the music by Mettaton and Napstablook.

“Of Course I Do. I Was One Of Mettaton’s Biggest Fans! Nyeh-Heh-Heh!” Beagan grinned at his cheerful laugh and turned to look at Edge. He had a look on his face like he had been forced to swallow a lemon, bitter rind and all. Beagan reached out and set a hand on the side of his skull. Edge flinched hard and turned to glare down at her.

“Are you alright?” She asked him quietly.

“I’M FINE,” he ground out. Beagan retracted her hand and pulled her knees up to her chest. Something was up, and she had a feeling that she had done something to make Edge mad at her, but from her previous interactions with him, she couldn’t be certain of that. He didn’t seem like the type to open up to anyone.

Maybe she could ask Red about it.

A short time later, they pulled up in front of the house and were quickly carting the groceries inside.

“Beagan! Beagan! I Have To Show You This!” Blue called from the porch, running down to greet them.

“What is it, Blue?” Beagan asked, holding onto Edge’s collar and leaning over. Suddenly, Edge’s hand came up and snatched Beagan from his shoulder.

“DON’T DO THAT!” he commanded. Beagan gave a surprised squeak and stared up at him. The brief look of panic was quickly replaced with the same look he had given her at the store, before he took the loop of her leash from his wrist and passed her and the leash to Blue. He gathered a few bags in his arms and quickly marched to the house, leaving Beagan and Blue to stare after him.

“Did Something Happen At The Store?” Blue asked, unclipping Beagan’s leash.

“Well, I almost fell, but it wasn’t anything too awful,” Beagan told him. He nodded quietly and took her into the house. Over by her box, he removed her harness, replacing it and the leash in a small tin under the table her box was set on.

“Sans And I Found Something For You While We Were Out Today,” Blue told her with a grin.

“What was it?”

Blue reached into a pocket and pulled out a tiny packet. He handed it over to Beagan and said, “Open It.”

The package was made from a thicker paper, only about an inch long with a small tucked in flap. She pulled up on the flap and peered inside. There were three small, silver sewing needles wrapped up in a piece of cloth. Beagan pulled one out and held it out in front of her. It was a little more than half-an-inch long, and very slender. She hadn’t used a sewing needle in a while. Not since before she had woken up as a tiny Bitty. She could start sewing again!

“Oh. My. God.” Beagan looked from the needle up to Blue and back. “Thank you Blue! This is incredible! Where did you find such a small needle?”

“Mweh-Heh-Heh! Sans Found Them In A Bin Of Items That Were Marked Down. Apparently, These Are Too Small For Most Humans!” Blue then pulled out another package. This one was a little bit bigger, as it was filled with a few spools of thread.

“How much room you got in those pockets?” Beagan asked.

“Oh, These Are Quite Handy With How Many Things I Can Carry,” he laughed, setting the thread on the table next to her.

Beagan looked at her box and then back at the thread and down to the needles in her hand. “I’m gonna need an extension for a sewing room.”

Blue gave another sweet laugh and said, “We’ll See What We Can Do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, in the kitchen:
> 
> “‘ey, boss, what’s this on the bread?” Red asked, holding up a loaf of the bread from a grocery bag.
> 
> “IT’S FLOUR,” Edge explained with a snap.
> 
> “oh, so it’s just fancy jizz, got it.”
> 
>  
> 
> I have a tumblr, come check it out!
> 
> https://sloaneconriao3.tumblr.com/


	14. Learning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dialogue heavy, but Beagan is learning more about Black and Edge, so... yay?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’M ALIVE!!! 
> 
> Sorry about disappearing like that. Life was being more than I could handle and writing had to be put on the back burner until I could get everything under control. It’s still not perfect but I had some free time and managed to pound out this chapter.
> 
> I’m not going to be able to stick to a set upload schedule right now, so I’ll update as I complete the chapters.
> 
> Thanks for reading, everyone!

Beagan was facing a conundrum. Edge was now avoiding her, along with Black. They didn’t go out of their way to talk to her in the first place, but this was getting a little ridiculous. She wasn’t sure exactly what their problem with her was, but she was going to figure it out, and she was going to do it today.

“Hey, Red, can I talk to you?” Beagan asked, knocking on Red’s door. She heard a quiet shuffling from beyond the door and then it cracked open. 

A bright red eye light peered down at her from the crack and Red’s gruff voice grumbled, “can’t ya go bother one o’ tha others?”

“No, I need to talk to you.” Red sighed and opened the door for her. Began offered a quiet, “Thank you,” and moved past him into his room.

She rarely entered his room, and when she had, the room always looked the same. It was a mess. But it was a controlled mess, like it was purposefully made to look the way it did. The over full trash can never emptied or spilled, the graham cracker box on top was the same one she had seen the first time she had come into his room. The dirty laundry was the same as well, never growing or shrinking, but Red always had clean clothes to wear. The only thing that ever seemed to change was his bed, from the sheets being rumpled or balled up, to the position of his pillows.

“so, tiny, what can i do ya for?” Red asked, leaning against his door frame, eye lights trained on her. His arms were crossed over his broad chest, drumming his phalanges on his humerus.

Beagan stared up at him. She hated being so small. She turned ran at his bed, jumping as high as she could. She caught a corner of his sheet and climbed up onto his bed, attempting to level the field of vision.

Red barked out a laugh. “if i knew it’d be that easy to get’cha inta my bed, i woulda tried sooner.” A lascivious smile curved over his sharp teeth. 

Beagan rolled her eyes, a blush brightening her cheeks. Her first thought was to ignore him, and as she purposefully averted her gaze, her eyes fell on the graham cracker box again. Something really didn’t add up about Red, never mind the fact that Beagan never saw him ever actually eat graham crackers. She looked back over at Red and saw he was waiting for her to respond. Her mind rushed to find a response and her’s was one that answered in kind.

“Why, Red, I didn’t know you felt that way. I’m sure with a bit of practice, I could get past the first knuckle,” she jested, holding up her pinky. Her face was still flushed in embarrassment and her heart rate picked up at Red’s stunned expression, but she still managed a sassy grin. The laugh that erupted from Red’s chest sputtered and stopped several times before he gave in to his usual boisterous rumble. A proud smile spread across Beagan’s lips. Her response had been a good one.

“well, tiny, i certainly didn’t expect that. so, what’cha need from good ol’ red?” He brushed a tear from his socket before moving to sit next to her on the bed and gently picking her up.

“Some advice actually.”

“oh?”

“It’s about your brother.”

“what about him?”

Beagan shifted in Red’s hold as she carefully thought about what she wanted to ask him.

“Does your brother hate me?” she finally asked in a small voice. A surprised look crossed his face before he gave her a smile and a chuckle.

“now where did ya get an idea like that? couldn’ possibly be from his reaction after yer shopping trip, could it?” Red prodded.

Beagan narrowed her eyes at him and nodded. He cleared a space on his bedside table and set her on it. She sat cross-legged and rested her elbows on her knees, her eyes flicking over Red’s features.

Red leaned against the wall and cocked his head. “how much do ya know about him or me?”

“Not much really,” came the honest answer. “That’s why I’m here. He doesn’t really tell me much about himself or you. I understand that you two are rather private people, I really do. I just-,” She paused, mulling over her next few words.  
“I just want to correct what ever wrong I might’ve done, I guess.”

“well ain’t that sweet,” he teased, crossing his arms. Red’s face turned serious as he continued, “unfortunately there ain’t much ya can do. my bro is workin’ this out on his own, in his own way. he won’t accept help. see, in the underground, my bro was captain of the guard. he took that job and all the responsibilities very seriously. so when there was a screw up, he blamed himself for days.”

Beagan chewed on her bottom lip. Edge hadn’t done anything wrong though. He had actually saved her from some serious damage by forcing her to wear the leash and harness.

“i can see the wheels turnin’ in yer head. ya think he ain’t done nothin’ wrong,” Red surmised, eye-lights trailing over her slight form. Beagan nodded. “see, there’s the rub. ya don’t think it’s that big a deal, but to him, he failed his job. ya got hurt. even if it wasn’t too bad, it was still a massive blow to him.”

“But why? I’m okay, and it was my fault I fell. If I had remained sitting, or had actually held on to keep my balance, I wouldn’t have fallen at all,” Beagan said quickly, her face pinching in confusion and guilt.

“see, you know that, and now i know that, but to him, it was supposed to be such an easy job. keep an eye socket on the bitty and don’t let her get hurt. the best ya can do is go to him an’ tell him that it sucked that it happened and yer willing to talk. but this ain’t somethin’ that can be fixed. my bro don’t let anyone ‘fix’ when he feels he’s responsible. don’t let it eat at ya, he’ll let someone know when he’s in over his head.”

Beagan nodded and pulled her knees up to her chest. She looked over Red carefully, thinking about what he said. Edge was a lot different than what Beagan originally thought. He was loud and brash and sarcastic, yes, but he was also insecure. It was odd to place that value into the equation that was Edge.

It also gave her insight on Red himself. To her, it seemed that Red carefully crafted this image that he was a slob, that he was coarse, and that he was the most distant and apathetic of all the skeletons. There was a special sort of respect and love that he had for his brother, though. Red was also supremely intelligent and insightful himself. But Beagan already had that idea about him.

Her attention was pulled back to the room as Red shifted to lie on his back. He tucked his hands behind his skull and closed his sockets, offhandedly musing, “i think my bro is gonna be fine. go find one of the cream puffs and see if they’ll play with ya now.”

With that rather brusque dismissal, Beagan hopped down to Red’s bed, down to the floor, and scampered out the still open door. She walked towards the stair case, planning on finding Rus next. She hoped she might get some insight on Black too. It’d be a start to figuring the more distant of the skeletons at least. 

As she started down the steps, she continued her musings of Red and Edge. There was an undoubtable parallel to Sans and Papyrus, from looks, to certain mannerisms, to unshakeable loyalty to one another. Actually, now that she was thinking about it, the same could be said for Stretch and Blue, just swapped from Sans and Papyrus. Beagan’s thoughts were interrupted by a heavy foot fall right next to her.

Startled, she looked up at Black, who was stopped at his bedroom door, looking at a packet of papers with a scowl on his face. He glanced down to Beagan and a surprised look crossed his face. He then scowled at her and moved the rest of the way into his room. Beagan quickly slipped into the room with him just before Black slammed his door shut. When he turned around, Beagan was there at his feet again with a smile on her face.

“Hey, Black, you got a moment to talk?” Go straight to the source, don’t prance around the subject. Good plan. Except for the murderous look Black was giving her right at that moment.

“GET OUT,” he growled at her.

“I just wanna talk.”

“NO.”

“But I-”

“NO!”

“Come on, just let me-”

With a fierce snarl, Black snatched up Beagan and stormed over to a corner of his room. He grabbed a fistful of a sheet that had been covering something and threw it off to the side. There on the ground was what looked like a brand new, empty aquarium, one someone might have for a collection of fish. Black glared at Beagan before unceremoniously dropping her into the tank. Beagan landed at the bottom with a soft thunk.

“RIGHT WHERE YOU BELONG, PET,” he mocked. “NOW SILENCE!” With that he stomped over to his desk and sat down heavily.

Beagan didn’t frighten easily, but right now she was terrified. Her throat closed up on her and her heart almost beat itself out of her chest. She was trapped in a glass tank that was almost ten times her height and at the mercy of the only skeleton who showed nothing but disdain for her very existence in his home.

She sat in silence for a few minutes, just watching Black scratch at the packet of papers with a pen. When she finally collected herself well enough, she started looking around the rest of his room. There wasn’t a lot to the room itself. Not a lot of personal touches to be seen. Beagan would’ve most certainly classified it as Spartan in style. There weren’t many luxuries, his desk and chair were simple, a dresser on one wall, plain black sheets with matching pillow cases tucked under the bed with precise hospital corners, and a small trunk at the foot of the bed. The only things that really said that the room belonged to Black was a flag with what looked like an altered Delta Rune, the symbol of the monsters and a single picture frame. Beagan couldn’t quite see what was in it, but she knew that it must be important if it was stood up on his dresser and the Delta Rune matched a patch that Beagan had seen on Black’s jacket a few times.

Beagan curled up in the corner and shivered as she waited. She started to quietly hum as she played with the ends of her hair. It was starting to get longer and the ends were fraying. She needed to get it cut soon. She listened to Black’s pen continue to scratch against the papers. She watched him through the glass, considering her next course of action. She hadn’t considered that one of the skeletons might put her in a position where she might need to escape and she had left her bag in her box. So she had to try and talk her way out of this.

“Were you part of the Royal Gaurd in the underground too?” Beagan asked quietly, not looking directly at him. She saw him jump in her peripheral vision at the sudden sound of her voice. He glanced down at her and turned back to his papers.

“I know that Edge was the Captain. Were you the second in command?”

She heard Black give a soft sigh. “Yes,” came the quiet answer.

“It must’ve taken a lot of work for the two of you to rise in the ranks like that.”

“I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING, PET.” Black growled at her, saying “Pet” in a mockingly sweet voice. “YOU’LL NOT SEDUCE ME INTO RELEASING YOU FROM THAT CAGE. BE SILENT!”

Beagan sat back against the wall of the tank and stared at Black. He returned it with a dark glare before turning back to the paper work on his desk. They sat in silence for a few minutes while Black continued working and Beagan stared around the room.

Finally she murmured, “I’m not trying to butter you up. I just want to know you. You never gave me a chance.”

The scritch-scritch-scritch of his pen on the paper stilled. “What Was That, Pet?”

“I don’t know what I’ve done to make you hate me,” came her quiet reply. She chanced a look at him. He was gawking at her, his face incredulous. She quickly continued, “You haven’t wanted me here since I moved in. You don’t ever talk to me. You don’t ever want to hang out and read or talk or play board games or make snacks or anything. You don’t seem to like me at all. You seemed to hate me even more when your brother admitted to wanting me here. I don’t understand, I just want to get to know you and Red and Edge and Rus and hang out with everyone and-”

Beagan cut herself off when Black quickly stood up from his chair and crossed the room to the aquarium she was in. She tried to keep her trembling to a minimum when he knelt down and carefully scooped her out of her glass prison. His hold was gentle as he lifted her to be eye socket-level with him.

“I Don’t Understand You, Pet. Why Are You Trailing After Me Like A Lost Puppy?” His was voice quiet and his gaze was searching. He continued speaking after just a moment. “I Just Put You In A Cage And You’re Still Trying To ‘Make Friends,’ Which, While Some Might Find Commendable, Is Still Foolish And Dangerous.”

“I don’t understand why you hate me when you know next to nothing about me. Some could say it’s foolish to mark someone as an enemy before they’ve wronged you,” she countered.

“You Offer Nothing Of Value, Why Should I Be A Companion Of Yours?”

“I would not be the only one to gain from this relationship you know. But you’d never know that because you immediately wrote me off. You don’t know anything about what I have to offer.”

“You’re A Pet. I Have No Need For A Pet.”

“I was a human first. Squint your sockets and look a little closer. ‘Cause one day you might just eat your words.”

Black rolled his eye-lights and scoffed as he dropped Beagan back into her prison. “LOOK, I CAPTURED A HUMAN. HOW ABOUT THAT.” He moved back to his desk and got back to work. Beagan scrambled to stand up and glared at him. He began writing in his packet of papers again and said, “BE SILENT. I’LL TAKE YOU DOWN TO DINNER WHEN IT IS READY.”

Beagan huffed and sat down. This was not going at all like she had planned. Not that she had made any sort of plan.

She was woken later by a gentle hand lifting her from her cage and carrying her down the stairs. She blinked blearily at Black and stuck her tongue out at him. He smirked and dropped her unceremoniously onto the dining table before going to sit in his spot beside his brother. She ate her dinner as she always did and moved to sit near Edge.

“Can we talk in a little bit?”

He nearly dropped his fork in surprise, but recovered quickly, saying a quiet, “Okay.”

Beagan gave a small nod. She was still learning about each of the skeletons, but she was glad for every bit she went through to get it. Even with Black and his terrible attitude. She glanced over at him as he was eating quietly, almost automatically, seemingly lost in thought. Yes, she was definitely getting somewhere with cracking the code to exactly who Black was.


	15. Terror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was supposed to be up last night, but I had started getting sick and I kinda fell asleep while I was doing my last check for grammar and spelling. So here we go, have it today. I think I might use my sudden free time today to do some more writing.
> 
> Sorry I lied to you SeaRose :p
> 
> Thanks for reading everyone!

‘As dusk fell over the mountain, our hero pulled himself from the battle field,’ the narrator of the movie said.

“He looks like he just came from the salon, rather than a fight,” Beagan quipped. Papyrus and Blue quickly shushed her. She blinked at them from her place on Sans’ shoulder and then rolled her eyes. This was one of the weirdest and most badly produced movies she had ever seen, but they were enjoying themselves at least. She couldn’t even think of when movies might’ve had narrators, so that was just weird. They watched as Mettaton, the superstar of all Underground, climbed up a mountain to do battle with a shadowy demon, posing fantastically as he did.

“He’s got some great legs,” Beagan whispered to Sans.

“eh, they’re alright, i guess,” he muttered, passing Beagan a piece of popcorn.

“Are you kidding me? Those are some fucking model legs. I mean, compared to him, I’m a bow-legged twat.” She stuck out her leg and pulled up the bottom of her nightgown up a little to show him.

Sans glanced down at her and gave a quiet snort. “they do come up short i suppose.”

“Are you making puns about my height now?” Beagan hissed, narrowing her eyes at him. She was once again shushed by Papyrus.

“just a little one,” Sans whispered, smirking.

Beagan groaned and announced to the room at large, “I’m going to bed. Good night everyone.” There was a quiet chorus of ‘Good nights’ as she slid down Sans’ arm and bounced down to the floor.

She climbed the ladder up to her box and went about setting things back in there place before she went to bed. After everything was put back together, she heaved herself onto her hammock and pulled her blanket over herself. She could still faintly hear the movie still playing in the living room.

She nestled her head into her pillow and allowed the soft and inviting warmth of sleep to pull her under.

 

✧~*~✧~*~✧ ✧~*~✧~*~✧ ✧~*~✧~*~✧

 

Beagan was dreaming. She knew that much. There was an unending blackness that stretched around her. It wasn’t warm or cold, her vision wan’t obscured, it didn’t press on her, nothing like one might expect from endless darkness. It just was. She looked down at her hands, still clearly visible, though glowing, as though the light by which she could see was coming from within herself. She pressed the heels of them into her eyes and rubbed gently. When she pulled them down, nothing had changed. So, she did what anyone might do in a boring dream, she began walking, just choosing a direction and setting forth. She didn’t grow weary, her feet didn’t hurt, there wasn’t even any truly solid ground. 

Soon, the black turned into an odd, shifting grey, which then eventually turned into a white so bright and pure it burned her eyes. After blinking a few times she saw that she was in the living room, on the coffee table. What truly made her pause though, was the wire cage that she was standing in. She turned on the spot a few times trying to wrap her brain around this predicament. Why was she in here?

She watched Black pass by, heading for the stairs to the upper floors.

“Black? Hey, Black? Can you let me out?”

He didn’t respond, didn’t even look in her direction. He moved though the archway and disappeared.

She wrapped her fingers around the bars of the cage and peered out. This was starting to scare her. Red was the next one she saw.

“Red! Red, help! Please let me out!”

Once again, he didn’t look at her, didn’t acknowledge her presence.

Her heart began to pound rapidly, her breath fast, short gasps.

“Blue?! Papyrus?! Are you there?” She yelled to the silent house.  
She moved around the cage a few times, looking for a door. She found none, not even on the roof of the cage. She watched Edge and Rus move quickly through the living room to the front door. She rushed up to the wall of the cage and climbed up a short ways.

“EDGE! RUS! PLEASE LET ME OUT! PLEASE!” Beagan screamed at them. 

It was as if she didn’t exist.

Despair was beginning to consume her. Why was she trapped in here? What was going on?

She heard a creak of wood from behind her. She turned quickly, holding on with one hand. Sans was standing there in the open door to the basement.

“SANS! Sans, it’s me! Please let me out!” She called to him. 

He looked up! He - he saw her! 

Right?

He moved past the coffee table, heading towards the dining room.

“Nonono! SANS! PLEASE, SANS, LOOK AT ME! SANS PLEASE!”

He kept moving, never pausing to even look back at her.

“SANS!” she screamed, tears running down her cheeks.

Silence.

Beagan curled in on herself and sobbed. 

She was all alone. 

She was trapped. 

No one was going to save her.

“Hello little morsel,” whispered a voice that was both serene and gruff.

Beagan gasped and turned around. There, before her, just outside of the cage was a hulking beast with a reptilian skull.

“It’s you,” she breathed, her voice hoarse

“Oh, you remember me,” the creature rumbled in a lilting voice. It towered over her, taller than even Papyrus or Edge. If she hadn’t been sitting she would have fallen back trying to meet The Beast’s gaze. She trembled as a feeling of bitter wrath and absolute hate emanated from the huge creature.

“Wh-who are you?” she asked in a trembling voice. Her head was hurting, she could barely breathe and there was a terrible weight on her chest brought on by fear.

“I?” the colossal creature began. “I am a creature far older than you, your cities, even your meddlesome monsters. I can’t even recall what you humans used to call me before I was trapped in the Wound Between Worlds.”

“The wound? What?”

“Nothing you need to worry about, morsel.” 

Shit.

The Beast moved and poised itself over her, like a cat trapping a mouse. The coffee table creaked and groaned under it’s weight for a moment before it splintered and broke.

“You, my little morsel, will be my way to freedom,” it snarled melodiously.

Beagan could only gasp in fear as the beast opened its maw and took the whole cage into its jaws. 

Suddenly, Beagan was falling...

falling...

f a l l i n g . . .

A strange black tentacle shot out of the darkness and attempted to grab the cage, but only knocked it to the side. Beagan gave a shriek of fear as she tumbled end over end, slamming into the side cage.

Another tendril flew towards her from the darkness and latched onto the cage, stopping it’s descent into the endless nothing, but Beagan kept falling, passing through the bars of the cage as though they were nothing more than a shadow. As more tendrils shot out of the darkness, aimed right at her, she screamed.

The first one missed, then the second. She tried to roll away from the next and her body started to tumble, flailing and pitching end over end. She couldn’t stop the screams that continued to pull themselves from her throat. She wound up falling face down and through her tears, she saw more of the tentacles criss-crossing below her and she squeezed her eyes shut.

She hit the tentacles with much less force than she had anticipated and promptly threw up. She heard a familiar voice say “eurgh” before she opened her eyes and saw a series of interconnected bones holding her up in the air. Her body gave another heave, trying to empty her stomach of whatever contents were still left behind.

A soft voice made gentle soothing noises as two fingers brushed over her trembling back. The voices of the skeletons murmured above her as she trembled and dry heaved in the hand of whomever was holding her. Her whole body was burning and everything was hazy. She blinked up at the concerned faces of her skeletons and only briefly worried about how she must look right then, puffy-eyed with snot and vomit on her face and clothes. The worry passed quickly when she gave another retch and they were moving through the house to the kitchen.

She watched as Papyrus began one full side of the sink with water and wished she could just lay down and sleep, but she didn’t want to lay in a pile of her own sick. The echos of her nightmare were still bouncing around in her head, which made her desire to go back to sleep shrink even more, but her body was begging for a rest.

“c’mon bea, you need to get in the water and clean yourself off,” Sans murmured to her.

Beagan gave a small nod, but couldn’t put forth the effort to move from Sans’ hand. More tears fell as she looked up at Sans helplessly. Her whole body ached and shivered. She just wanted to close her eyes, but when she did, the images of the skeletons turning their backs on her flashed before her eyes.

“kid, you need to get cleaned off.” She nodded in acknowledgement to Sans’ words, but still didn’t try to move towards the sink.

“Miss Beagan, Will You Be Alright To Bathe In The Sink By Yourself?” Papyrus asked, wringing his hands. “We’ll Be Right There In The Dining Room, You Can Just Call If-“

“No,” she croaked, her throat raw. Beagan didn’t want to be alone, and she knew she should at least be embarrassed by the thought of undressing in front of the skeletons, but all she could see were the bars of the cage in front of her.

“paps, go get a small towel and something simple for bea to wear, i’ll help her here,”Sans instructed, gently depositing Beagan on the counter. He washed his hand off, while Papyrus went quickly to do as he was told. 

Beagan just sat where Sans had put her, her body heaving again, with nothing to force out. Sans was back with her in an instant. “Sans, everything hurts,” she whimpered.

“it’s okay kid. c’mon, lets get you in the bath.” He reached for her and paused. “is it alright if i undress you?”

Beagan shrugged her shoulders and gave a small nod. “Yeah, okay,” she whispered. She could feel her cheeks heat up slightly, but she just let herself pretend that she was back at the shelter and she was going for a full exam. Nothing too awkward about that.

Sans gently pulled her nightgown over her head and her underwear away before carefully picking her up and placing her in the warm water. He handed her a wash cloth, carefully covering her with it to preserve some of her modesty and using a corner to help wash the rest of her.

“alright bea, you okay to take over?” he asked. Beagan gave a small nod, pulling the rag tighter around her. “alright, I’ll be-”

“Wait, please don’t go,” Beagan said, turning to look up at him. Sans gave a startled blink, but slipped his hands into his jacket pockets.

“you seem really shaken up. wanna talk about that nightmare you were having?” Beagan gripped the rag tighter in her hands and gave a small shake of her head. She didn’t want to think about it anymore. “you sure? you were screaming an awful lot.” She shook her head again.

Sans gave a sigh and turned his back to lean against the counter. “I’m sorry,” Beagan whispered.

“for what?”

“For being so much trouble.”

Sans gave another, softer sigh. “we’ll talk about that later. but for the record, you’re no trouble at all.”

Beagan gave a small sniff and finished cleaning herself off. As she stood from the water, the wet, heavy rag draped over her shoulders and wrapped around her body, she gave Sans a long searching look. She wanted to make sure that next time, she wouldn’t forget she was just dreaming. That whatever terrors might stalk her subconscious, she would have find a way of grounding herself.

Sans glanced over his shoulder at her before turning to face her fully, gently lifting her from the sink. “i think you’re running a fever kid. might have to take you to see kenley later.”

Beagan nodded as Papyrus rushed back in with a dry hand towel and a simple pull over dress for her to pull on. Once she was sufficiently clothed, the skeletons began making plans to take Beagan back to the shelter for a quick check up to see what was wrong.


	16. Back to the Center

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, the skeletons go back to the center to figure out why Beagan is running a fever. It’s less informative than they were hoping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I finally reached 100 kudos and I’m so flipping excited OMG!!! I just wanna say thanks to everyone who took the time to read this and to everyone who left me comments. Even to those shy beans who created private bookmarks and those who subscribed and- and- and- GAHHHH! You’re all amazing!
> 
> Thanks for reading everyone!

After a bit of rushing around on the skeletons part, Stretch, Papyrus, and Sans had Beagan back to the shelter, with Edge, Rus, and Blue promising to be along shortly. They had looked up a few quick remedies for upset stomachs and gave Beagan a cracker and a bit of seltzer water to help calm hers.

When Sans walked through the front door with Beagan in his hand, she had given him a slightly delirious grin, whispering, “Just like old times, eh, buddy?”

“i don’t think so. you’re not threatening to kick me across the parking lot.”

“That comes after the honeymoon.”

Stretch chuckled behind them as the frizzy-haired receptionist greeted them with just as much energy as the last time Beagan had seen her. 

“Dr. Sans! What a surprise!” the receptionist twittered. Beagan still couldn’t remember her name, not that she had tried very hard to do so, but she was saved from thinking too much about it by Sans.

“hullo, bev. can you let kenley know we’re here?” Sans asked her.

“Oh! Certainly!” She flitted away to the desk and picked up the phone, jabbering away to whatever poor soul was on the other line. Sans held Beagan close to his chest, letting her snuggle up to his soft blue jacket.

“You wanna know the worst part of being sick?” Beagan asked Sans.

“tell me,” he replied.

“When I was normal sized and I got sick, all I wanted to do was cuddle up to someone. But no one wanted me to cuddle with them ’cause I was too germy.” She made a face and leaned back to look at Stretch. “Hey, can monsters get sick like humans can?”

“kinda, but not quite,” came the vague answer.

“Meaning?”

“well, monsters have different illnesses they can get, but we wouldn’t get sick from you. not enough organic matter for your germs to really affect,” Stretch elaborated.

“The Same Is True For Humans And Monster Illnesses. Your Bodies Don’t Have Enough Magic For Our Diseases To Make An Impact On You,” Papyrus supplied.

“Oh, okay,” Beagan said. She looked over to the doors and saw Dr. Kenley heading towards their little group with a stride that said they were on a mission.

“Sans,” they said, holding out a hand, “It’s good to see you again, though I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“hey kenley. trust me, this was not what i had in mind when we were talking about doing a check-up with bea,” Sans answered, shaking Dr. Kenley’s hand.

The doctor began leading them through the center 

“Hey Doc,” Beagan said, giving them a little wave.

“Hello Beagan, I’m glad to see you again. Though, I must say, you’re looking a little worse for wear.”

“Yeah, kinda got sick this morning.”

“Yes, I was informed.”

It had only been a couple of weeks since she had been at the shelter. She stopped and counted the days on her hands. Exactly sixteen days since she had moved in, sixteen days since she had last seen Kenley or Lucas. She was shocked when she realized that it had felt quite a bit longer. She’d need to make sure to call Lucas when they got home. Sonja too, Beagan hadn’t heard from her since she had called to tell her friend she was being adopted.

Kenley led them to an exam room and instructed Sans to set Beagan on the table in the center of the room. Beagan shivered from the cold of the table seeping through her dress. She’d much rather continue snuggling up in the fabric of Sans jacket.

The doctor rifled through a few drawers and began setting things on the counter, telling Beagan and the skeletons what they were planning. “So, we’re going to just start looking for the first couple of obvious illnesses. Namely the common cold or the flu. Bitties rarely get sick. In fact, Beagan is the first from this center to fall ill.”

“Really? Do You Know How Many Reported Cases There Are?” Papyrus asked.

“The last time I checked we were looking at about 15 in total. Mind you, there is the fact that some may have fallen ill after being adopted and their families decided not to take them in, and never reported it. That’s unlikely though, because there are always follow-ups with the families for the first few months and Bitties have only been up for adoption for about six months now.” Kenley explained as they moved around Beagan. 

They used a strip meant for young children to check her temperature, and found she was running a fever. Next came the various tests to look for what sickness she had. 

✧~*~✧~*~✧ ✧~*~✧~*~✧ ✧~*~✧~*~✧ ✧~*~✧~*~✧ ✧~*~✧~*~✧

They sat in the exam room for nearly an hour waiting. Stretch had the brilliant sense to bring along a deck of cards so they played a few rounds of speed, of which Beagan lost every single one.

Soon after Beagan decided to just watch, Kenley returned with a grim look on their face and a clipboard in their hand.

“what’s with the long face?” Sans asked.

“Everything I looked for came back negative. I’m not entirely certain what she has.” The doctor explained. Stretch and Sans both gave each other a look and moved to go over the chart with Kenley. Beagan moved to Papyrus’ outstretched hand.

“Could it be something magic related?” she asked him.

“I Don’t Know. Humans Don’t Have Enough Magic For It To Affect Them.” Papyrus said.

“Well, I think we can agree I’m not quite human anymore,” Beagan mumbled.

Papyrus just stared at her for a moment, before he clapped his free hand over his sockets.

Sans and Stretch looked around at them. “uh, what’s up paps?” Stretch asked.

“Miss Beagan’s Query Aside, We’re All Fools.”

“uh, what?” Sans asked, his teeth turning up in a concerned grin.

“I Could Have Tried Using Magic On Her To Help.”

The silence in the room was palpable. Stretch buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with repressed laughter.

“Check please,” Beagan joked with a small smile. She was starting to sweat from the fever and wanted to rest more than anything now. Maybe whatever magic Papyrus could use would help the headache that was trying to split her head open.

Sans smile became a little more relaxed and he turned to Kenley who had a contemplative look on their face.

“I don’t see a lot of harm in using some magic to help Beagan, but if we don’t actually know what’s wrong, we’re only treating the symptoms and not fixing the problem. If it is some sort of magic-related illness, I recommend taking her to a monster specialist.”

“got it. thanks for your help kenley.”

Kenley nodded and began making notes on another sheet on the clipboard. “I do have a few questions. Has anything stressful happened recently?”

Sans was staring at Beagan, a long, searching look. She shrugged back at him. The only thing that had really shaken her up was when Black dropped her in the aquarium, but she and he had actually begun talking to one another after that. 

“well, according to beagan, no,” Sans replied.

Dr. Kenley looked between the two of them. “Has she been sleeping alright?”

“Yeah, I’ve been sleeping rather well,” Beagan answered.

The three skeletons all stared at her as though she had just grown another head and began speaking in tongues. She chose to ignore them, instead answering Kenley’s rapid fire questions, just like she used to when she lived at the center. She was so tired still and she wanted some food and maybe an ibuprofen for her headache. She doubted that she’d be able to get one though. Man she hadn’t been sick like this since before she had been bitty-fied.

Sans had migrated to his brothers side as Beagan talked. She could feel him eyeing her, like he was looking for something she might be hiding behind her back. Soon enough, Kenley had exhausted their questions and had given them leave to go. 

Back through the halls of the center, through the first door, and the second, down another corridor, and they were walking into the reception area. Blue, Rus, and Edge all looked up as they walked through the door. Blue hopped up from his seat and all but ran to them. Rus trailed behind him a little more slowly and Edge stood near where they had been sitting.

“Are You Okay?” Blue asked.

“I don’t know yet. The doc recommended we see a monster specialist,” Beagan told him.

“i’ll see about contacting someone before we go home,” Sans offered, pulling out his cellphone.

“I would recommend getting her to see someone as soon as possible if Papyrus isn’t able to heal her with his magic,” Kenley input, standing off to the side. They paused, pursing their lips, and then said, “Scratch that, just take her to see them, whether the magic works or not.”

Rus walked up to Papyrus and gestured to Beagan, “may i?”

“Oh! Certainly!” Papyrus carefully handed her over. Beagan started climbing up Rus’ sleeve to get to his shoulder. She was getting tired of being passed around and decided she was just gonna chill right there until dinner time, even if that meant the hood for his jacket would become her pillow for a while.

“I’m gonna hang out with you for a bit, okay?” she asked.

“that’s fine,” he mumbled, chewing on the string for his jacket. He held completely still while Beagan made herself comfortable. 

She looked over at Edge, who was still keeping his distance, just watching the group chat quietly. Sans was giving information on how the center could bill them for the check-up. Beagan waved at Edge, who glanced in her direction. With the brief moment of his attention, Beagan sent a love-heart shape at him with her fingers. Edge blushed a dark crimson color and turned away from her, heading for the door with everyone else.

“Hey, Rus?” Beagan started, looking up at the shy, quiet skeleton.

“yeah?”

“D’you mind if I take a nap here on your shoulder?”

A short pause before, “i don’t mind. you wanna listen to some music?”

“Sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I have a tumblr. Not much going on there, really, but I want you guys to come and bother me! Ya know, if you want to or what ever, it’s not like I’ll force you to go. (Is this how you play hard to get?)
> 
> https://sloaneconriao3.tumblr.com/


	17. Think About It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! New chapter! Please, have, read, enjoy!
> 
> Thanks for reading everyone!

Beagan slept the entire ride home and for a couple hours after that snuggled up with Rus. She was grateful for not having any nightmares while she was sleeping this time. When she woke up later, she was curled up on Rus chest as he and the others were talking.

“i’m gonna move her box upstairs for now. we need to keep a closer eye-socket on her until she’s better.”

“well, what if we move her inta one o’ our rooms?”

“that’s entirely up to her. it’d be her privacy that would really be disrupted.”

“WELL, I’LL NOT HAVE HER IN MY ROOM. THE PET IS FAR TOO CLINGY.”

“we weren’t going to force anyone to take her in, we could just as easily leave her in the hall outside mine and pap’s doors.”

“Papy And I Could Take Her.”

“she might not even need a bed then. she falls asleep wherever she wants and that includes on us.”

“that’s not-”

Beagan’s hip started to cramp from the way she was curled up now that she was awake. She gave a small groan and stretched out her leg, relieving the ache and stiffness.

“Good Afternoon Miss Beagan. Are You Feeling Any Better?” Papyrus asked.

“M’not really,” she mumbled. She felt clammy and her limbs still felt heavy. “Why’re we movin’ m’box?”

Sans answered, “we wanted you to be closer to us in case you needed us.”

“M’kay.” Looking around, she saw that everyone was there in the living room, all standing or sitting and staring at her. She could feel her face heating in embarrassment. Why were they all staring at her like that? Rus started running a finger down her back.

“Miss Beagan, Do You Mind If I Use My Magic On You To Try Relieving Your Illness?” Papyrus asked her. Her gaze jumped to him. He had reached out a hand to her, a gentle smile on his face.

“M’kay,” Beagan nodded quietly. She sat up as straight as she could from Rus’ chest and reached out for Papyrus. She had never been healed by magic before. At the center, Bitties had never gotten sick, and even those who might’ve received an injury, typically healed quickly.

Rus gently picked up Beagan and placed her into Papyrus’ gloved hand. Beagan gave him a smile before turning to look at the rest of the skeletons. They were all still watching her, a mixed look of concern and fondness on many of their faces.

Suddenly, Beagan felt as though she had a stream of warm water running down her back that steadily grew. She felt as though she had been put into a warm bath, her skin tingling pleasantly. She gave a small sigh and felt her face heat again, this time in happiness. As Papyrus continued, the heat began to change and move. Rather than warming her from her skin to her core, heat began to bloom in her core and move to her fingers and toes. She hummed appreciatively, and wiggled a little in Papyrus’ hand as her body gave a shiver all over. She felt absolute elation and contentment at the same time, like she had just had a cup of rich hot chocolate after playing in the snow and was curled up with a book in front of a fireplace. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to begin giggling or lay down and take a nap. Soon the warmth began to fade, but the feelings remained. She looked up at Papyrus with a loopy smile.

“jeez, tiny, ya look high as a kite,” Red commented. Beagan turned to look at him and just gave a shrug and slumped back in Papyrus’ hand.

“uh, bro, i think you mighta over done it a little,” Sans said, his smile tight.

“You May Be Right,” Papyrus said with some concern. Beagan’s body felt heavy with exhaustion, but she felt absolutely blissful. She tried to wave off their concern and turned over in Papyrus’ hand, intent on going back to sleep.

Someone said something, but their words were garbled as Beagan succumbed to the darkness of sleep. 

✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧

Beagan was floating in a cocoon of warmth, light filtering in from somewhere. She stretched, a delicious moan slipping from her lips. She had been up later than usual, trying to sew on the last few details that she had wanted for her new steampunk larp that she was going to be apart of. She needed to finish everything before this weekend. She sat up from her bed and felt a moment of confusion. For some reason, her room didn’t look right. She knew this was her room, but it felt wrong. She thought for a moment that she should’ve had a hammock rather than her full-sized mattress and fairy-lights strung up around her room. She gave a small shake of her head and got up. She moved to her closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and a blouse. Slinging a leather belt through the loops, she gave her copper-y locks a quick brushing before pulling it all into a ponytail at the back of her head.

She moved quickly through her apartment, the feeling that something was slightly off constantly nagging at the back of her mind. Breakfast eaten, dishes cleaned, living room picked up and off she was, headed into town. Stop by the library to drop off her books, stop by the craft store to pick up more brass colored thread, visit with Grandma for a few hours and try one or two or five of those cookies she made from that new recipe.

Lunch, a walk through the park, groceries and she was headed back home. Walking through her front door, she called out, “I’m back!” Silence greeted her. That was odd, where were...

She didn’t have any roommates, who did she think she was talking to? She shook her head and moved to put away her groceries. She decided to be daring and try to make something fancy for dinner. At least, more fancy than microwaved chicken nuggets again.

Spaghetti sounded good. Paps liked that the best.

Wait...

She looked around her kitchen. It shouldn’t be this dated or grungy looking. She rubbed her face in her hands, scrunching up her eyes.

Something was definitely missing.

Her eyes flew open. This was a dream! She wasn’t in her old apartment, this was just some illusion.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, chuckling softly. She reached out and allowed herself to be dragged out of sleep, murmuring, “If that beast had anything to do with this, I might actually have a demon haunting my dreams.”

✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*~✧~*  
Slowly, she cracked her eyes open, blearily looking up into concerned eye-lights. She blinked a few times and whispered, “Hi, Blue.” Her voice was hoarse and she desperately needed some water, but the smile on Blue’s face was so dazzling she had to take a moment.

Blue’s eye-lights brightened and morphed into stars, “Good Morning, Beagan!”

She sat up and stretched, yawning widely. She was laying on a pillow on Blue’s bed, warm light filtering through the window. When she looked around again, Blue had a concerned look on his face again, watching her carefully.

“What?”

Blue gave a small flinch and blushed. “Sorry Beagan, You’ve Been Asleep For A Really Long Time.”

“Are we talking hours or days?” Beagan asked.

“Well, You Fell Asleep On The Ride Home, Slept For Several Hours, Awoke, Papyrus Healed You And Then You Slept From Then Til Now. So,” he quickly counted on his fingers, “Maybe Sixteen Hours?”

“Hm... I broke my record.”

“What?” Blue exclaimed.

Beagan laughed and explained, “When I had my wisdom teeth removed, I had slept for about twelve hours straight. Like, I woke up just long enough to take my pain medication and I was out again.”

Blue stared at her in horror. “You Had Teeth Removed?!”

“Well, yeah. Nearly all humans have teeth fall out when they’re children. And some have to have teeth removed because the teeth are not needed. It’s an evolution thing.”

Blue put his phalanges to his mouth and stared at Beagan in wide-eyed horror. Beagan couldn’t help laughing at him. Dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, he looked like how a younger Sans might look.

Beagan blinked. Sans. Blue looked like Sans. So did Red and Black. Stretch, Edge, and Rus looked like Papyrus. They were, “... all the same,” Beagan breathed. They acted alike in some cases, they all looked alike, they were all one tall skeleton with small eye-sockets and large teeth with one smaller skeleton wit large eye-sockets and a fused jaw. All pairs of brothers, all from the underground where the stories never lined up.

Blue gave her a confused look. “What Did You Say?”

“You’re all the same. Aren’t you, Sans?” Beagan accused, staring him down.

Blue sucked in a breath and said, “Just A Moment.” Then he turned around and fled the room, slamming his door shut behind him. Beagan could hear him running down the hall, shouting, “SAAAAAANNNNSSSS! WE HAVE A SITUATION!”

Beagan could hear a bit of thundering and shouting from down below. Welp, she must’ve been right. She had to blame pretzel logic on figuring that out, especially since she seemed to be so blind to it in the first place. Flopping back down on the pillow, Beagan decided to take it easy until someone came to get her. The big question was, how was it that they were all the same? They were so different in personality and tastes, yet fundamentally similar. Beagan head started hurting as she sat there and puzzled over everything.

The door opened a few moments later and Sans, the first one she’d met, walked into the room.

“so, i think we need tibia-nest with ya kid.”


	18. Let’s Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I’m finally ready to get back to a regular update schedule! Woo-hoo!!!
> 
> Thanks for reading everyone!

“So, curiosity doesn’t kill cats, but it messes with the space-time continuum and the multiverse theory. Nice,” Beagan said. She pinned all of the skeletons with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. She was feeling better, but the headache she was nursing was getting to her.

“well—” Sans said, drawing out the word. He scratched at the back of his skull.

Beagan sat on the coffee table with her chin resting in her hands, looking up at all of the skeletons. Every single one of them lived a completely different life and one could tell simply by looking at them. But if you spent enough time around them, they were all so similar it would make your head spin.

“We Never Meant To Deceive You,” Papyrus began.

“Yes you did,” Beagan cut in with a curt voice. She gave a small pause and took a deep breath when all of the skeletons flinched. In a softer and more calm voice she continued, “I can understand why though. If this secret were to get out, not just to other monsters, but to any human government, you would all be in serious danger.”

“you see, i hadn’t planned on them staying for so long,” Sans started, “but even with help, repairing the machine to work the other way has been a nightmare.”

“It’s television, not telephone,” Beagan quoted from a movie she had watched at the shelter.

“uh, no, it’s not like either of those really. what do you know about-”

Beagan interrupted Sans, “Probably nothing. When I was in school, my focus was on literature and the performing arts. I’m near useless with anything science. I’m the one they market the terrible sci-fi movies to.”

Stretch gave a wry smile and said, “damn, you were almost perfect.”

Beagan playfully stuck her tongue out at him, and turned back to Sans. “So, are you going to make them go back?” She started fiddling with the ends of her hair again. She didn’t want any of her skeletons to go.

“it would be the responsible thing to do, send them back to where they came from.”

“Do you guys wanna go back?”

Red answered first, “tibia honest, i don’ wanna go back. things were getting awful there. also, since we’re havin’ this moment of honesty, sans, yer a pain in my coccyx and i ate yer slice of cake from the fridge.”

Sans gave him a deadpan look and leaned back in the chair before turning back to Beagan. “we have to send them back. at the very least that one,” he said, gesturing to Red, who had a shit-eating grin on his face.

“But why couldn’t they stay?” Beagan asked.

“For One Thing, We Don’t Belong To This Universe,” Blue cut in. “We Don’t Know What Sort Of Effects We Have Had Or Potentially Could Have Here.”

Beagan wanted to argue against that, but she knew that he probably had a point that she didn’t truly know all about. “So it’s been a ‘So far, so good,’ kinda thing then?”

“yeah, see, the problem we’ve been havin’ is that we can’t do any sort of proper tests with the machine,” Stretch said, rolling a sucker around behind his teeth.

“Why not?”

“well, we wanna avoid pullin’ anyone else out of their world, or accidentally send us to the wrong place.”

“So, without a proper test, you can’t safely send them home, and if you do test this, we could have someone else show up. Uh... Sans, when you pulled them out the first time, what happened exactly?”

“it was a couple days before our second visit. i was down in my lab, just running a diagnostics test. paps came down to bring me food and i knocked my cup over onto the keyboard of the computer. yes, i know, that sounds like a bad sci-fi movie trope, but it was when i went to try and clean up that things started going crazy.”

“Okay, Stretch, Blue, what were you two doing?” Beagan turned to the two skeletons. Blue looked troubled and confused and Stretch had gone completely still, staring off into the distance, a pained expression on his face.

“I- I Don’t Remember What Happened. I Remember Going To Bed And Waking Up Here On The Floor,” Blue said. He looked up at Stretch and reached out a hand, taking Stretch’s in his own. “You Okay, Papy?”

Stretch gave a start and looked up at his brother. “i’m okay, bro. just trying to remember.”

Beagan gave them both a concerned look and turned to Red and Edge. “What about you two?”

Red had turned away slightly and said, “same as them two.” Beagan felt a slight twist of worry in her chest. Red had been upfront and honest with her thus far, but something about his posture told her he was lying.

Edge also looked disgruntled and said, “I CAN’T REMEMBER WHAT I WAS DOING. I THINK IT MIGHT’VE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH UNDYNE, BUT I CAN’T BE CERTAIN.”

Beagan pursed her lips and turned to Black and Rus. “And you two?”

Black simply turned away and shook his head, but it was Rus’ reaction that truly made Beagan frightened for them. Rus had curled up in on himself and had begun shaking. He crossed his arms over himself and gripped his hoodie in his hands. His sockets were squeezed tightly shut and he was shaking his head, a whispered, “No more, please not again,” slipping from his mouth.

Sans looked at Beagan and said, “i’ll talk with them about it, see if i can’t get anymore information from them. for now, i think we need to have a talk about you.”

“What about me?”

“well, for one, you’re still not completely better, and you lied to kenley.”

“What?”

“you told ‘em you weren’t havin’ any problems sleepin’, but this last time, you had a severe nightmare.”

“Because the nightmare was probably induced by the fever.”

“honey-bea, you were screamin’ and thrashin’ in your box until sans pulled you out. i know that fever dreams are a thing, but it sounded like someone was tryin’ to steal your soul. that didn’t sound like any normal nightmare.”

“Well, it was frightening, but obviously I’m fine.”

Sans sat back in his chair again, crossing his arms. “bea, you know we only wanna help you right?”

“Yeah, I know. But it seems to me we have a slightly bigger problem to worry about right at this second.”

“look, tiny, we can only do so much with the machine right now, let us take care o’ ya.” Red had leaned forward, resting his arm across his knee, a hand out to Beagan.

“I mean, I’m not saying ignore me, but I’ll be fine guys.”

“PET, YOU SEEM TO BE EVEN MORE OBSTINATE WHEN YOU’RE SICK THAN WHEN YOU’RE HEALTHY,” Black snapped at her. Beagan stuck her tongue out at him, with him rolling his eyes as if she had just proven his point.

Edge cut in, “LOOK, WE’LL DEAL WITH THIS JUST AS WE HAVE WITH EVERYTHING ELSE. ONE DAY AT A TIME. LET US FOCUS ON GETTING HER TO A DOCTOR WHO CAN HELP HER MORE THAN THOSE AT THE CENTER COULD, AND LET’S GET SOME FOOD STARTED SO THAT WE MAY EAT.”

Beagan blinked and smiled. Look at Edge, taking charge and being the voice of reason. When he looked down at her, she flashed him a quick love-heart shape with her hands. He blushed a crimson red and scoffed as he turned away.

She stood from her seated position and stretched, groaning as her back protested. She padded forward and closed Red’s hand before jumping towards Rus. Landing lightly on the couch next to him, she gently leaned against his leg.

“Hey, do you wanna go listen to some music?” she asked quietly.

Rus looked down at her, almost like he didn’t see her, but eventually nodded and carefully picked her up, heading towards the stairs.

“Were things really bad in your world?” Beagan asked quietly.

“yeah. i- i really don’t wanna go back.”

“Okay,” Beagan said, climbing up his sleeve to sit on his shoulder.

Beagan looked around his room, his desk cluttered with incomplete projects, his waste basket filled and over flowing. As Rus moved to his bed in the corner, he turned on the stereo that was sitting on his book case.

They spent the next hour sitting in Rus’ room listening to music and talking quietly about nothing. Beagan wanted to pry more into what made Rus react like he did, but she was afraid she might hurt him if she did so. Instead, Beagan was curled up on his shoulder, leaning against his skull, sketching in a book. She handed it off to Rus every once in a while, asking for his input on her sketch of a new outfit for a larp idea.

“bea, what would you say if i told you that there’s a surprise we’ve been working on,” Rus said suddenly, thumbing through a few scraps of fabric in a bin next to his bed.

“I’d say you boys are spoiling me.”

“maybe, but we all care about you, even sans. my brother, sans, i mean.”

“I know. He’s so prickly though,” Beagan said with a smile.

“it’s just who he is. he had to distance himself from everyone and everything he cared about when we were still underground. to protect me, in public, i’m his attack dog. in private, when we were at home, he was still distant, but he took care of me,” Rus explained.

“Yeah, I can- I don’t want to say understand, because I’ve never been in that situation. Maybe empathize is the word I’m looking for? Like, I don’t know your pain, but I still grieve with you, because I know you well enough that I can see a-” Beagan rambled before Rus put his hand up to her.

“i know what you’re trying to say. what is it you humans would say? you have a good heart, right?” Rus murmured, dropping his hand into his lap.

“I mean, yeah, humans say that. I don’t know if I’d say that about me, I’m just trying not to put my foot in my mouth.”

“nah, you’re a good person.”

Beagan blushed to the roots of her hair and stifled the pleased smile that was trying to split her face. “Thanks, Papyrus. You’re pretty nifty yourself.” She turned in her spot and placed a gentle kiss on Rus’ jaw.

Rus lit up with a brilliant rust colored blush, turning his head to look down at her, his sockets wide with surprise. He sat in a stunned silence as Beagan went back to drawing until Blue came upstairs to get them for breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I’m thinking of a new story I want to write starring Ink and a young creator, but I don’t know if I’ll post it right away. It’s going to be a bit shorter than this one though, so once I have some more written, I’ll address this again.
> 
> Also, I have a tumblr where I post random things! Come and chat with me!
> 
> https://sloaneconriao3.tumblr.com/


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